Trekking
by Selector
Summary: So, Taylor triggers, of course, and its QA, of course, but maybe she she was drinking, or was it to early and she hasn't had her coffee?
1. Chapter 1

Trekking

"Citizen, you are in violation of title eighteen, part one, chapter fifty one, paragraphs 1111, 1112, 1113, 1114 and 1116. Part 1, chapter fifty A, paragraph 1091 and part 1 chapter twelve paragraph two thirty one of the US code. You will stop your activities and wait to be apprehended by appropriate law enforcement authorities."

Lisa blinked looking at the screen and listening to the audio from the pickups and cameras at the boardwalk and the feed from the snitch. ' _Food dispenser attempting citizen's arrest of the Leviathan'_ Oh, thank you power. I would have never known. "So Rodenberry's machine is out autism-ing Armsmaster and has decided if it is going to die it might as well go down swinging." She announced to the room full of thinkers. _Variation of transporter technology, may be capable of dematerializing Leviathan._ "What? Fuck off power, that will-"

Lisa watched as Leviathan swung at the machine, after staring at it with his head tilted like an attentive dog. A dome snapped into place around the machine and another around Leviathan. The rain cut off like it was a Hollywood movie set and someone had shut off the valve to the rain machine. ' _Shields, particle and wave. Rotating shield frequencies, ninth generation, level ten shield, shield capable of defending against Borg, anti-matter, and quantum weapons.'_

"Citizen, further resistance will be met with force."

Leviathan went insane inside his shield, which turned out to be a sphere as his efforts lifted it clear of the beach from repeated impacts and it filled with water. Water which only facilitated his mad dashing around inside the sphere. How he wasn't ground to mush with the sand and gravel inside the sphere was a mystery.

Lisa keyed her mike "Everyone should back off."

Alexandria replied "What is going on? Can that thing hold Leviathan?"

Lisa nodded, shrugged, shook her head, and answered "It has defended itself against everyone else who attacked one of them, or arrested anyone within five hundred meters of one committing a crime. There have been reports of them making people who didn't stop resisting disappear. Like Lung. It contained him. They rematerialize when the police tell it they are ready. Depends on its power source I think." Her power was giving her some information and a lot of, well, gibberish.

Armsmaster keyed his radio "As has been reported in Protectorate ENE files 20111312, 2135, 31256 and 43214."

Alexandria turned and looked at Armsmaster "We thought that was your idea of a joke."

Legend nodded "The video was a very creative touch."

Armsmaster glared at his superiors "We mounted the cameras and sensors watching the machines after anecdotal reports of their capabilities.

"We are still investigating. Research is ongoing into the constructs the machines have turned over to the police."

"Constructs?" Alexandria arched a brow.

Armsmaster nodded "The machines dissolve molecular bonds and take up the materials generated through matter conversion to energy and then reconstruct it by converting energy to matter at the molecular level, in an exact replica of the person or thing. The same way they intake trash and raw sewage and produce food, clean water and other assorted beverages. They also produce building supplies, fuel, metals, anything you can input the chemical formula or a sample for. Fine wines being essentially all the same admixture of water, alcohol and assorted chemicals it required a sample. That sample is indistinguishable from the original by every sommelier we have had render judgement. They thought it better in most cases.

"The Theory of Relativity is apparently a suggestion to them. Testing is still ongoing." Most of the capes present had turned to look at him by now.

Legend looked at the Empire 88 contingent there for the fight "Where is Hookwolf?"

Armsmaster sighed "In the 'buffer' as the machines call it. Apparently as a data pattern. We have not been able to prove to Rodenberry's satisfaction that we have the capability to transport him to the Birdcage successfully. Our latest plan is currently in Rodenberry's possession for review."

"Which is unlawful imprisonment and kidnapping!" Kaiser had stepped close to the group standing just outside the shield of the machine.

 _"Taylor v. Taintor_ , 83 U.S. 366 as amended in 1999 by a seven to two majority allows bounty hunters to hold prisoners until they are sure law enforcement can contain them. The prisoner must be turned over to lawful authorities, substantially unharmed, when they are capable of holding him or her." The machine supplied in its aloof, calm, mature, contralto voice.

"You vaporized him Rodenberry! I watched you do it!"

"His pattern is in the buffer and will be substantiated as soon as the plans for his containment are satisfactory."

Kaiser glared "This isn't over! I will find someone to arrest you Rodenberry! You will pay for your crimes!"

Assault snorted "Good luck finding her."

Battery added "Lung and Bakuda as well."

Alexandria wanted to put her fingers in her ears, scream, pull her hair out, something. The hands off policy on Brockton Bay due to the experiment had gone too far obviously. What else was lurking in this cesspool? That was looking cleaner and more orderly by miles than it had a year ago when she was last here. Bah! Leviathan, then they could deal with this mess. "Containment breech imminent. Citizen, you will cease and desist or you will be dematerialized into the buffer."

Lisa looked at Leviathan, then around the room, then she ran. Her power was screaming at the amount of material that was going to be taken in. It obviously didn't believe it could be contained.

As Alexandria and Legend began receiving reports of the thinkers universal hysteria, a sparkling field enveloped Leviathan and a high pitched electronic whine began. Leviathan froze inside the force field and then leaned its head back, a ragged mouth tore into its face and it screamed as it glowed and disappeared. She blinked "What the fuck just happened?" She looked past where Leviathan had been after the force field dissipated and blinked at the glow coming from the water. "What the fuck is that?"

Legend winced at the cursing, then joined in as a an enormous structure rose from the bay, and rose, and rose. "Fuck me." It rose some more, now with no visible means of support.

Assault nodded "I didn't realize the bay was that deep."

Alexandria looked around "What exactly is that?"

Clockblocker shrugged "A United Federation of Planets Sovereign class Battleship. The only one in commission was the USS Enterprise. NCC 1701 E. At least when the series ended." He looked around at the crowd who were now all staring at him "What? A vending machine just ate an Endbringer, now you are surprised? Phhtt, so telling you the vending machine was probably using a corbomite reflector to make that sphere it held Leviathan in isn't something you want to hear then? Not quite sure how Rodenberry got one in one of her vending machines. Things are energy pigs. Of course, now that the Enterprise is here she has a warp 9.5 capable warp core to draw from. No idea how she is transmitting the power though."

Vista stepped from the roof five blocks away and snorted "At least TNG didn't have to have a resident catsuit bunny to rescue its ratings. All though, Enterprise turned out kind of OK. Blalock learned to act eventually."

Rune gaped at her "Until they killed Trip! Fucking Hacks. And they did it twice! Limited imaginations! That whole writing team should have been replaced."

Kid Win spoke up "Seven of Nine was a super badass!"

"Please, F cups do not a super badass make. Those writers emasculated her!" Pelter waved her hand airily.

Fenja barked "Hey! F cups do not prevent you from being a badass!"

Legend whistled with his fingers in his mouth, a piercing blast. Everyone ducked then turned to him "Debrief."

Clockblocker snorted "Better do it here. If you try to move the vending machine you will get to keep Leviathan, Hookwolf, Lung, and Bakuda company."

A figure appeared in a shimmer "It's not a vending machine, it's a replicator. Admittedly I had to build in some defenses after Squealer stole and disassembled the first one." She, obviously a woman from the build, or a very unfortunate guy, those hips only belonged on a woman. She was thick like a MMA fighter though, tall, thin, couldn't really tell about the chest as her armor covered it smoothly, though it did have a bulge in the right place, wearing an odd padded under suit and exoskeleton in a charcoal black on lighter black camouflage pattern that seemed to absorb light, carrying a sleek looking rifle, last she had a utility belt with several blocky and cylindrical objects attached to it, with two drop leg holsters. On her head was a full coverage helmet with a smooth faceplate.

"C'mon man! MACO armor?" Clockblocker face palmed.

Kid Win had stepped right next to the woman. "So cool. Do all those modules just plug in? Modules, modular! Oh man!" He grabbed the woman and kissed her on the faceplate. Before running off.

Clockblocker opened his mouth, then snapped it closed looking in the glowing humming barrel of the rifle thing. Vista laughed "If it's on stun blast him Rodenberry!"

Alexandria sat on the bench in front of the replicator, it hummed then produced a cup of steaming soup for her. She snorted and took it.

AN: No idea what this is or where it came from. It keeps pouring out of my head. No idea where it is going as well so suggest away, maybe it would make it into this as I am posting without letting it sit as I normally do.


	2. Chapter 2

Trekking

1A

An Explanation

"So let me tell you a story.

"Taylor Hebert, a gangly bespectacled girl with long curly dark hair, stomped down the street. She knew she was acting like a twelve year old rather than the fourteen year old she was but she really couldn't stop. Her best friend, the girl she had thought of as a sister for most of her life, had just slammed her door in her face! For no discernable reason. Infuriating! It had to be something to do with that Sophia girl! Taylor would get to the bottom of this!

"Later that evening, night really, Danny Hebert, Taylor's father, was in bed. He went to work early and came home late since mom had died. He hadn't fallen apart, no descent into madness, just work. The life, or that part that wasn't work, went right out of him. He hadn't been obliterated like she had. She resented him for that, a little at least. Still he put food on the table, kept the bills paid, but he was just there. Mom's things were still hung in their closet for goodness sake. He was frozen in time or something.

"Mom had been a tenured professor and fully insured because she wasn't a dumbass. So the funeral was paid for, Lacey, a friend of her mother and fathers, had taken care of all of that as the executor of moms will. She had gotten Taylors trust fund set up, the insurance company had lost that term life bet. A million bucks in term life just to go into that trust for her, twenty years for a woman her age for fifty bucks a month. Twelve grand to return a million dollars if, well, just if. As she had only paid three grand in, they took it in the shorts. Hah! Goddamn it. Insurance through her work, five hundred thousand dollars for dad, the house, and whatever and thirty thousand dollars for her funeral. Mom's health insurance had paid for the ambulance. And wasn't that a kick in the pants, a bill for an ambulance that did nothing as mom was dead at the scene of her accident. All right and proper for middle class white people.

"Dad took the money from the insurance, and as the house was paid off, put three hundred thousand of it in trust, and used two hundred thousand to get a lawyer to sue the dog shit out of everybody in the world for her and him. The guy that killed mom had been made penniless, lost his business, and reportedly committed suicide. Hopefully he is rotting in the hell of stupid assholes. Dad sued the other driver, the car maker and the makers of all the parts and components for it. He sued the cellular phone maker, all the companies that made components for it and the cellular service provider. He sued the city, the contractor that built the road and the one that built the drainage under it because it was raining. It was like he was born and raised in New Jersey, where the state sport is litigation. Did I say he was a workaholic? He went to the office and did his work, and all of this before and after work, because it had the printers and business class internet. Still he wasn't home. He wasn't present for Taylor.

"OK, sure he was a guy, and a social retard, but wasn't he supposed to get smarter as he got older? Maybe, as Lacey suggested, he channeled his rage into suing the world. He certainly channeled it somewhere other than toward her or the house. Which reminded her, she needed to talk to Lacey about a cleaning service and a maintenance service. The trust fund, of which Lacey is the administrator, chairman, chief? Something of could pay. Most like Dad didn't jam every settlement into it. She wasn't going to pay for it out of her allowance.

"Taylor leaned against the tree and blinked 'What the… Where am, oh Emma's house.' Why? Because I wanted to watch her and see what shifty shit she was up to because she was acting like she did in fifth grade when she was trying to be a bad girl and dressing in black clothes and stuff. Speaking of which, 'where did I get a black hoody, Amazing these jeans still fit and the safety shoes too. Did my body grow and not my legs or feet? I mean I have had these for years. I've outgrown most of my stuff.' A squirrel chittered from the branch over her head 'OK fine. No talking to myself.' She tugged the hood of the hoody down and settled in to wait. This position allowed her to see three sides of the Barnes house and the other side was all windows and the front door. Emma wouldn't use the front door. Plus it squeaked because nobody used it much. More of a creak than a squeak but still.

"So life was shitty good? How was that even a thing? She was alone. If she was a boy, according to the studies she had read, this might not matter as much, or if she could talk to boys. Apparently in mixed gender settings women did better at cooperation and socialization. Phhtt. Bitches were bitches and boys were dumb. Or Mr. Macho, or anything but useful most of the time. Usually hooked to some game console or playing some sport involving trying to crush each other. If they weren't, they had some bolder girl latched onto them who would claw your eyes out, figuratively and physically. That was all before mom died and put me into time out for a year. Now I'm farther behind socially than I was before and I wasn't doing all that great then. A goofy, slightly childish, chatterbox. Emma had been glad to point it out and categorize me in accordance with whatever teen Vogue came up with before mom died.

" 'Hey wait a minute! Could she have been acting like she was my friend because of something that stupid rag said? Some kind of way to show her superior characteristics? I'm going to have to get the back issues of that stupid rag from the periodicals section and do research.' More chittering. 'Shut up, stupid squirrel. Shhh!'

"Taylor focused on the shadow drifting to the Barnes house, up to the second floor, and passing through the wall. 'That's Emma's bedroom! What the, that was a parahuman! That smoke vigilante Shadow Stalker!' Taylor was a bit of a cape geek too. Another failing and indicator of immaturity according to Emma. 'And there is Emma.' Emma eased out the back door, the smoke figure came through the wall and drifted down and around to the back of the house. "Oh, here's Smoke." Taylor blinked as the smoke turned into a figure in dark clothes and a hokey mask carrying a crossbow. They jogged off. Taylor followed. The squirrel watched with trepidation, or snored, I forget, or never knew really. Not important, but that squirrel really did chitter at me. It wasn't cute at all.

"It was hard to follow Shadow stalker, not so hard to follow Emma. She always has sucked at cape games. The chase went on and on in fits and starts until they were downtown. There may have been a little hands on knees panting while looking at the two looking at things going on a time or two. Emma had improved a bit while she was at camp. Taylor rounded a corner and saw them standing at the mouth of an alley. She drew back and kept peaking. The two started down the alley and she followed.

"Taylor used dumpsters, trashcans and service doorways for cover until she was close to the pair she had been chasing. She then realized they were facing a bunch of ABB gang members and Emma had a baton and a taxer. Of course she had a taser, one of the hand held ones. Her daddy could afford anything. And, as he is a lawyer, could find a way around the law for his daughter to have it. Emma was spoiled. Taylor tightened her grip on the tiny little pepper spray Lacey had given her.

"Taylor was just thinking 'That is a lot of gangbangers' when the crossbow fired. It took the leader of the group in the chest. The others exploded into motion and Ema was swinging the baton and stabbing people with the taser. Shadow Stalker was doing some kind of martial arts thing? Something with two batons. Taylor knew hitting people in the head that hard could kill them. She could hear the blows from here. She had to stop this. She stepped out of her cover as the last ganger went down and Shadow Stalker bent over one with a knife 'Stop!'

"Shadow Stalker and Emma spun toward her and Shadow Stalker brought the crossbow up and fired. Taylors thought 'when did she reload that' flashed through her mind as she instinctively turned her head and the arrow hit her in the back of her head paralyzing her. She crumpled to the ground like a puppet with her strings cut. Conscious but in no pain and paralyzed. Shadow Stalker charged over and looked down at her open eyes then snorted and backed away 'Some yellow fever bitch'.

" 'That's Taylor. I knew she was too weak for this.' Came out of Emma as she looked down with a superior smirk. A Smirk that faded. Emma looked at Shadow Stalker 'Is she...?'

"Shadow stalker shrugged "Looks like, come on, lets finish these off, dead men tell no tales and all that."

"Taylor screamed in her mind as Shadow Stalker and her former friend did something, maybe killed the other gangsters and took their wallets, weapons and phones.

"Taylor's thoughts got fuzzy and even more panicked as they faded. Two buildings away Shadow Stalker drifted to a roof and slid across it when she came out of her shadow form as she landed. Emma chased her down "Sophia!"

"In the alleyway, Taylor was alive, eyes open, but nobody was home. Or if they were home they were locked in the house with the porch light off.

"OK, some of that is a bit of a dramatization and supposition. I was pretty out of it there at the end after I got shot in the fucking neck. I think its allowed. This next part is how I remember it and oh by the way my memory is like watching a video now. With zoom, rewind, whatever you want. Oh don't zoom in on a zit, its gross.

"Taylor came awake with the memory of a scream, sirens, flashing lights and disjointed images of people in uniforms and then acoustical tiles. Tiles like the ones she was looking at now? Wait that was the floor. No the bottom of a bed. What the fuck? Suddenly the images swam together and she was looking at a hospital room from a third person point of view. She, her body anyway was laid out on the bed. Her father was sitting beside her, his face angry. Lacey was on the other side and the lawyer was in the room, along with a woman she didn't know. What the fuck was that noise. Oh their mouths are moving. They are talking. OK why can't she ah there it is. 'Shadow Stalker. The PRT is sure agent Thompson?' Dad's voice was in that controlled mode where it gets really clipped.

"Agent Thompson must be the woman in the blue suit. Nice suit really. She spoke 'Certain. There was a witness. She had an accomplice this time.' News to me, I thought the bitches killed everybody there. Maybe they just thought someone besides me was dead.

"My father looked at the lawyer, who spoke "A hundred thousand dollars for capture."

"Dad nodded 'Two hundred grand for a corpse. Apiece.' He glared the already objecting PRT agent into silence 'It's legal and fuck capes. I want this bitch, her accomplice, both their families, and their fucking dogs dead. She took everything from me.'

"Daw he does love me! And wait what? Bounties are legal. That took a bit of research, quick, opinionated, run down, Scion, Capes, scared politicians, bunch of crazy laws, supreme court sorts them out, some interesting opinions get handed down from the high court, more refined laws, and we arrive here, where both putting on bounties and collecting them, even dead bounties, is legal. Yep I agree. Crazy. Seems like sanctioned murder to me too, but there are a bunch of steps the bounty has to go through. Conditions that have to be met.

"So Thompson says 'Mr. Hebert, the PRT frowns on dead bounties.'

"Dad is now firmly on the warpath 'I couldn't give a flying fuck what your useless fucking organization frowns on. Get out.' OK way to piss all over a federal law enforcement organization there dad.

"The agent had nerve, I will have to give her that. She stood there and took that, then tried again 'We won't be able to assure your safety, villains do not appreciate those who place dead bounties.' Dad was right a little though. The PRT wasn't exactly civilian friendly. Looking through the data they aren't as effective as they should be either. Something was and is decomposing in that woodpile.

" 'What part of took everything from me do you not understand you simple minded bitch. You have five seconds to get out or I am taking the assault on a police officer charge, paying my fine and doing my thirty days, four, three.' The woman left and I wanted to cheer, shout, something. My body nor my perspective shifted. Dad sat back down in the chair looking at my body with tears rolling down his face. The Lawyer nodded flipped her folio closed and left.

"Lacey got out her phone 'You're staying with us. At least until we can get some guys to watch the house. That should be by tonight. You should move too. I don't know if I can let Taylor live there.' Wait what? I still haven't seen moms will. I need a look at that thing. How did I not remember that until now?

"Dad nodded then shook his head 'I'll find a way, its Ann's house. Her daughters now. Dad might have built it but its Ann's now. No one is taking it from Taylor.' Damn Dad, right in the feels. How is it your clueless self says the right thing all the time? I'll have to find you and hug you later. OK back to the story!

"I rolled my eyes for Lacey who obviously wanted too. Well my synthesized self did, whatever.

"Hospital, yada yada, scene set, and action!

"It was so embarrassing. I was totally paralyzed from the bolt that hit my brainstem. Even worse I couldn't even move my eyes. Locked in syndrome, they call it. It took me a week to figure out I was a parahuman and that my power was synthesizing a complete image of my environment using the senses of any living thing that wasn't a human. Sights, sounds, and smells, though smells took, erh, calibration maybe. I had to know what I was smelling. Like the lasagna dad was eating when I figured it out, one of those frozen ones. Touch was the same as smell, it had to be calibrated. Anyway once I figured it out I figured out how to communicate. First with bugs moving into letters, then through making sounds with my critters then just talking through them. That was after I had been moved home. You might say that ability escalated quickly.

"According to Lacey, who took over as my older sister/favorite Aunt Dad had a breakdown. Then he smiled for a day. Then he got serious about things. Dad hired guys through the DWU to guard the house. Big, tasty, beefcake guys with giant ass guns. Who I did not use my creatures to watch and fanta- never mind. He also hired nurses, physio therapist and anything else I might need.

"Of course he wasn't around much. He was at work, or at his office using it to conduct a campaign of terror against anyone he could for whatever he thought he could squeeze money out of them for. He and the lawyer had a suit going against the PRT, Protectorate, BBPD, local, state, and federal government for malfeasance. I had to look that up, I mean I knew what it meant, but I had to be sure of the legal definition. It looked like it was going to stick.

"Of course that pissed the capes off too. Four of them dead from the beefcake so far. They were definitely not boy toys my beefcakes. Especially the female beefcakes, never mind. Dad collected the bounties on those and hired more beefcake. Win win.

"Lacey, and the phycologist Dad hired to talk at me, convinced me it was how he showed love. Providing for me and protecting me as best as he could. Seemed a little pop psychology to me.

"Oh, and I figured out how to use a computer. With an eye position sensor. Then dad got me some mechanical arms and a wheel chair. After that it was off to the races. Well first it was off to the internet. Which turned into me looking at most of the .edu engineering and medical sites. Nearly twenty four seven.

"Oh how did the eye position thing work? I was in fact totally paralyzed after all. I put the sensor on my favorite momma raccoon, then her sisters, daughters, aunts and cousins. Powers are so cool.

"So in that whole mess I told Dad and Lacey the story and the lawyer took off after the Barnes. Dad got to do ten days in jail because my beefcake got him off of Allen Barnes before he could kill him. Zoe, Mrs. Barnes sent, took, dragged, something, Emma to the head doctors and the little bitch got committed. Dad did rescind the bounty on her. Not on Shadow Stalker.

"In another rapid escalation I had a neural interface put together in three weeks and roamed the internet like a utahraptor in a kindergarten. It may not be for porn but sixty percent of it is crap and half of the rest has authors who wear tinfoil hats. I found the library would deliver and pick up books for people like me. They could also get books in. The number of reading raccoons skyrocketed as I took over any that came in my range. Then the cats. For the reading. Because the raccoons had enough dexterity to feed the other animals. The cats could punch buttons. I got good with cats paws. Hehehe.

"My mechanical arms moved on to the next thing my fertile engineering doctor brain cooked up and I made a computer thing that was about fifty times as fast as anything on the market. Or rather they did. I called it a duotronic processor, because Mom was a Trekker and I watched every episode of Startrek and had all the books read to me, then read and discussed them with Mom. Sci-fi in general really but mainly Startrek. Mom was a professor of literature so didn't want to do that at home. See part of my powers was obviously a tinker but it was sort of compartmentalized? Did its own thing? I mean I could see the plans it was building too but they didn't take over the rest of my mind like was supposed to happen to true tinkers.

"Anyway, the way I figured it was I was a master because of my critters, thinker because enhanced senses, and processing from my critters, and tinker for the stuff my arms were building. A Startrek tinker. Was that even a thing? Anyway my tinker had started with Original series technology and was working through all the shows apparently. TNG, Voyager and backing up? Going retro? Anyway, doing some of the Startrek Enterprise prequel series stuff. I was trying to get it to do a light saber but I got noped. Still do, maybe later. Or my powers can't suspend their belief enough for the Force.

"Dad must have led an interesting life. He took one of my duotronic cpu and memory equipped portable, well, if you had a hand truck, processors to Leet. A tinker in town. He said it wasn't tinker tech. Dad got the lawyer to find a patent attorney. So now I have to deal with documentation and all sorts of other crap. Good thing I don't sleep. Good Lacey was trained as an engineer too. Though she and Dad have had a big blowup over him not believing her and taking the processor to Leet.

"So my tinker is a mundane mad scientist inventor? Still can't figure out if that is a thing. All this knowledge and still sometimes I just ride along with my power.

"In the final escalation of that year, my tinker blew through an enormous amount of stuff and built isolinear chips. Then stepped backwards? Sideways maybe, and came up with a positronic chipset. I woke up one day with my sight back, full control of my body and my senses restored. My neural interface was now internal as well as its receiver and transmitter. I had wireless and Bluetooth built in! Oh and my tinker had built a cell phone that was from the twenty seventh century or something. The thing had a radiator for goodness sake. I also have one and occasionally actually have steam coming from my ears. It is so freaking embarrassing.

"Dad was very happy. And very pissed at me tinking myself. So, after the medical doctor he found couldn't find anything wrong with my tinker's surgical technique, Lacey and her friends couldn't find anything wrong with the plans and I felt fine. He grounded me until I was married. He was serious about it too.

"My tinker didn't care and went on a spree. I was enhanced to brute levels, armored too. My senses were improved, all my bodies systems really. And I was exercised, a lot. The implant would do it if I didn't follow the instructions that appeared in my permanent HUD. It still will. OH, forgot to mention. I got a permanent HUD inside my eyes. I can't even close my eyes and get away from the instructions and information scrolling across my vision. Good thing I learned to sleep with my eyes open. Did you know that paralyzed peoples eyelids will drift open in some cases? Well, they will.

"What I didn't realize at the time is that the information was moving at the speed of thought, which is pretty damn fast when your whole nervous system has been optimized and the thoughts have to travel millimeters instead of kilometers as in a network.

"My tinker used my chair after I got mobile and built things so fast we had trouble keeping up, the house is now off the power grid. It has its own water and sewer systems as well as waste recycling. Dad and Lacey had guys from the DWU bringing in materials for me. Old computers, cell phones, all kinds of stuff. Should I tell him that facilitated my tinker improving me or would he just get angrier. Yeah not saying shit about that.

"Lacey was writing documents as fast as I was making them print from my processor to the wireless printer and plans to the plotter for her and her growing team to review and the patent attorney was hiring clerks as fast as he could find them.

"Dad hired a biomedical engineer, a chemical engineer, and a computer engineer. Along with the doctor he had found and a bunch or researchers. My tinker swamped them.

"The stuff that got patented was put in production in facilities Lacey had my trust buying. Once we talked about how to build it and my tinker turned to industrial design and process design. That was mostly documentation though, some mechanical and civil engineering and architecture too. None of those facilities are on the grid either.

"Meanwhile I was turning philosophical or some shit and trying to figure out how the people in the United Federation of Planets had gotten so far toward a utopia. Supplying basic needs for free seemed to be the key.

"My tinker had its new goal. It took my chair and built the first replicator in the back yard. Running off a miniaturized fusion reactor. Panic ensued. Fusion is after all nothing to play with. Or anything that should be possible in a steamer trunk sized space. My powers had to have pinged of Armsmaster. He was a miniaturization and efficiency tinker after all.

"In it's spare time, maybe not spare, machine time since the processing part of it was doing the planning but the arms were free, my tinker built positronic matrixes. The first being the one in the basement. The next ones being in android forms. Androids of me! Naked! Walking around the house in front of the beefcake! Fortunately for my sanity, or what there was left of it, they were not anatomically correct. Like giant Skipper dolls. Definitely not Barbie's. Thank God. Though I was bigger up top than I had been and was still growing under the iron mistresses education, martial arts, and aerobic training regime. I was getting to where I could hold my own against all but the most well trained beefcake. They weren't even holding back against the boss's daughter anymore. The female beefcake never had. They were pretty cool, all six of them, three shifts of two per shift. I couldn't go pee alone. Dad was, is, a little paranoid, freaked out, something.

"After the tinking I got a nurse per shift too. Not like they could stop my tinker but they were there 'in case'. In case of what dad? My tinker needed a surgical nurse maybe? "Scalpel!" Phhhttt.

"At least he started sleeping again. He was looking a little rough there for a while. "Hey wait a minute!" I actually said that out loud instead of writing it in this electronic diary or whatever this is. Captains Log? What? C'mon power. I turned my sensors on him and sure enough, surgical nanites. I was never saying a word about this shit. Of course Lacey, everyone had them. Fortunately they will finish their work in a few weeks and decompose, they were set to work gradually to minimize notice. Was that the Master or thinker part of my power? Anywho, the PRT would never know.

"Why is that important you ask? Because they are nearly as paranoid about a grey goo scenario as they are a Skynet scenario. Luddites.

"After all that things have settled and became iterative with a few innovations. Gel packs for one. That was a biggy. Until I was forced to semi out myself, debut, whatever this was today. Fucking deformed gecko. Man he was full of yummy goodness though. I wonder if the other two will be as good. I could have a flotilla! Wing? What did you call a bunch of starships?

"So now you know how we got to here. With Alexandria looking me in the eyes, and other sensors, from her bench, with her yummy, twenty fourth century, miracle drug filled soup and a brand new eyeball. I see you. Hehehe.

AN: OK most of you guys lips to the muses ears. Shadowdragis what are you, post cognitive? OK, wow big response. For the one reviewer who wanted me to leave it where it was, sorry I can't. There is this and two more chapters.

Some of you have noted Vermicast has changed and seems to be missing things. They got pulled out to get fleshed out for later posting. Which is hard in this forum by the way. Chapter one of this will disappear from there as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Trekking

2

Alexandria turned her, really rather prodigious, thinker ability and recall to the Rodenberry situation while Legend organized his debrief, setting up chairs and screens, or rather causing it to be done. PR people were already massaging the press, press who had not gone to the shelters and had been there for the whole fight. Cameras on and probably streaming live. Yep, a Weather Channel truck right there, dish up and Jillian Gutierrez running around in her Nor'easter suit. That woman needed laid so badly. She also needed a friend, or a mirror. That hat thing was just stupid looking. What was even the purpose of that turned up brim? And the PRT was establishing a cordon. Mainly to keep the press people corralled as no one else had come out of the shelters yet. Eidolon was being Eidolon, hovering over the boardwalk glowing green at everyone. He was probably napping, again.

She recalled the reports Armsmaster had mentioned and reviewed them mentally. She sent a message to Legend to leave Rodenberry as a separate issue. He didnt look happy. Everyone else, aside from Kaiser seemed overjoyed when he gave a quick agenda and specifically called out Rodenberry as a separate issue to be dealt with later. First the smart ones knew they didnt want to be in that can of worms and second it would cut into everyone's drinking time. An Endbringer was gone, at least for a while.

'Outside of this star System.' What exactly did she mean by that? Normal transporters in the movies and books had about a forty thousand mile range. Scotty had developed trans warp beaming ranged in light years, supposedly Kahn beamed form Earth to Klingon space, perhaps even Kronos itself. A thousand light years at least. Gary Seven also transported thousands of light years, and maybe through time. Other races in that universe had transporters with light year ranges as did the Federation in the future.

Bah, could fiction be a guide? Mostly Aleph fiction at that. Would they see Harry Potter next? Could they even take the Star Trek books, series, web sites, and movies as indicative of her powers? How was she doing this crap, past tinker bullshit. She had just seen an example of it. If the thinkers hysteria was any indication, an example the passengers didn't know about. So how does that work? Though there were some actual scholarly papers written about the possibilities of Star trek technology written on Aleph.

She looked at the replicator and it made another cup of soup. "Cheeky machine." It remained quiet.

By the time the, admittedly short, debriefing was finished, with Kaiser glaring at Rodenberry the entire time, Alexandria was ready and they adjourned to an office. They being the Triumvirate. Alexandria looked around "OK, fine, I'll go first. Did all of that really just happen?"

Legend and Eidolon looked at each other, chuckled, then laughed like madmen. Alexandria joined them. It was cathartic, slightly hysterical at first but then it wound down. Then Legend imitated Clockblocker "Oh a vending machine ate Leviathan, la de da, welcome to Brockton Bay bitches, keep your mind on your money, and your money on your mind." He did the four corners finger snap thing. That set them all off for a few more minutes.

Eventually, as they were wiping their eyes, David, Eidolon, did something and the room was bathed in a white light. "Secure. Contessa is going to not be able to path Rodenberry, just watch."

"How the hell does a superpower rise, in this place, right under our nose?" Legend, Paul, asked.

Rebecca, Alexandria, sighed "No idea. The experiment is obviously over. Poor Meredith, I think she is going to have to run the PRT for real and through this crisis. I am already getting a constant stream of mail from her. The pressure must be enormous." Meredith was her body double that filled in her job as Rebecca Costa Brown, PRT Chief Director, while she was off being Alexandria. A normal Human woman, a genius in her own right, modified down to her finger prints by Cauldron, the shadow government organization of parahumans the Triumvirate all belong to.

David nodded "The others at Cauldron are going to lose their collective minds."

Paul looked at him "So what is it you want to say other than the obvious."

David shook his head "You have always had high levels of empathy. That wasn't Rodenberry. It was a remote like Dragon. I used every power I could come up with short of an active probe."

Rebecca nodded "Too heavy, a couple hundred kilos from the boards under her feet's deflection. As fast and smooth as Dragon though. So if Dragon is an AI, as we suspect, so is that. The question is, did it trigger as we suspect Dragon did, or did the tinker that built it trigger as Richter did."

"Fucking thinkers." Paul looked between the two of them. "Does it matter in the end? We have a tinker that can out tinker Dragon."

Rebecca put her prosthetic eye on the table "And out think me. Admittedly I was a bit distracted, but she slipped me some healing something in the soup that machine gave me. I should have thought about it before drinking it. Armsmaster's very thorough reports document cases of healing done by the machines."

David nodded "And her machine can contain a Endbringer who wasn't holding back at all. That water was at a thousand degrees centigrade, only the pressure from it being contained in that sphere kept it from boiling us all alive. Doctor Mother is going to have you in the lab for a month. Meredith will need a raise. Congratulations though, if that is the right word? I think I will go have some soup, maybe see if it can do a barbequed brisket sandwich."

Paul nodded "So I have to take my rotation at getting cured last, thanks. Actually thanks. I can send Arthur first, then Keith. There is a ATM in our buildings lobby so I suspect there is a replicator there now, at least if these reports I am getting are correct. Glen will need a raise too if he can spin this. Where did those press people come from? There are already stories running on the major networks."

Rebecca sighed "Well we should get back at it. David if you would go to Cauldron? I will help Paul find and confront the actual Rodenberry."

Paul shook his head "No confronting. Arthur would kill me if I took a vacation in this buffer thing."

Alexandria pinched the bridge of her nose "Don't remind me, I always wondered if a transporter couldn't make us as many Eidolons as we wanted. Or another Hero. We are bound to have a blood sample of his." She sounded a little wistful. They had been a thing, no one knew how much of a thing. David and Paul blinked.

Trekking

Similar conversations were being held all over. The world was finding out an Endbringer was gone and was stunned. None more so than the ones who had been there for the event. Except for Clockblocker maybe. The Wards had moved to their quarters in the PRT building "How are you so calm Dennis?" Dean, Gallant, asked him as they sat in the wards lounge. A bit at lose ends as the truce was still on and the adults seemed to be gathering up their wits.

Dennis shrugged "An Endbringer came to town, I'm not dead, me, a squishy striker, a squishy striker who's operational task was to touch it, to freeze the Endbringer, to see if my power affected him. Of course they put 'if reasonably possible' in there. Like the answer to that wasn't 'Endbringer, nope!'. None of my teammates are dead. The Endbringer not so much, maybe. I mean it lives under water, so maybe it can survive hard vacuum in interstellar space?"

Carlos, the wards leader Aegis, nodded "Which is all good but uh, tinker one billion, plus. Not necessarily on our side."

Dennis nodded "At least she doesn't spend her time getting cats out of trees when there are Endbringers around. Plus, what are we going to do about it? Look, Ashbeast, the Sleeper, Nilblog, the Endbringers themselves. Its a funny old world. In the most not funny way possible. We just have to deal. Things are getting better here in town. Haven't you noticed? Trash is picked up, you know the homeless folks bring it to the vending machines to trade it for better stuff than water and the ration bars. Whole abandoned lots have been picked down to the weeds. if you empty a drink cup and throw it in the trash two of them get in a fist fight over it. Businesses have to lock their dumpsters. Patrols are quiet. Sometimes we see a sparkly light show, get handed a scumbag, and a memory stick full of video and sensor readings as evidence. Hookwolf got eaten by a replicator, so did Lung. Bakuda before she got her first bomb off. Chris might of found at his specialty and got his first kiss, in public with a robot face. Life is good."

Missy smiled at him gently "Plus your dad was a test case for Armsmaster and got cured. One thing though, it was great when she was a tinker recluse who somhow snuck vending machines in places. Now the idiots are going to label her a S class threat, and we live in her hometown. Also, don't tease Chris or I will give you a nuclear fusion wedgey."

Dennis nodded "I know, and did you see the as- Owww!" Dennis glared at Carlos after the full speed slap in the back of the head.

"No talking about the S class threat in a way that could possibly construed as derogatory, or I will take you to the vending machine in the lobby myself." Carlos glared while Missy and Dean laughed at Dennis's rapidly paling face.

At the Pelham's, half of the hero team New Wave, sprawling ranch style house, in the Brockton Bay suburbs, New Wave was sitting around the living room with the TV running footage of the Endbringer fight, and the sudden appearance of replicators everywhere on a constant loop while anchors talked in the background. Which was on any station you turned to, Glory Girl, Victoria Dallon, looked at the others "What the fuck happened?"

Amy Dallon, her adopted sister and the healer Panacea snorted "Now you know how I feel. I am still better at putting pieces back together though. If they aren't whole before she sucks them into the buffer. If they have been in the buffer forget it, she can suck up the pieces and spit them back out whole. Flashy lights, a rising tone, and bam, there they are, respawned. Anything else? Its a race and she beats me about half the time. Plus she can transport meds into peopeple at range. She doesn't have a striker limitation. Welcome to the new age Vicky."

Eric Pelham, Shielder looked at his cousins, aunt, uncle, parents and sister "I for one welcome our new overlord. Live long and Prosper." He held his hand up in a Vulcan greeting.

His mother, Lady Photon, Photon Mom, the leader of New Wave, Sarah Pelham, Carol Dallon's sister, laughed with the rest, then sighed "That poor young woman. The PRT are going to freak out, and fuck this up by the numbers."

Carol Dallon, Brandish, nodded "I'll call Rodenberry's senior partner. She essentially has her own firm. They have been at it for a year. Lawsuits, Patent filings, corporate registration, setting up and running trust. They are all young but they are as aggressive as baby sharks in the womb. She went to the DWU lawyers for recommendations. Those old Mob lawyers watch for up and coming lawyers. She has most of the ones I would have thought would be on George Takas's, the lead union counsels, list."

Crystal Pelham, Laser Dream, giggled "You think Leviathan is ruining the stuff in the returns bin?"

Vicky gasped "I hope not! There are some distressed jeans I want out of there and they are seventy five percent off!"

Eric summed up for everyone besides those two and Amy "Wut?"

Crystal rolled her eyes "There's an app. It list all the stuff that has been returned to a vending machine any vending machine and its condition. It has these three D pictures even. Like the best online catalog ever. If you let the machine scan you it can even use your avatar to model the stuff. Some of the stuff just needs cleaning, stains removed, whatever, which you can specify, and then it can be bought in its worn condition which you also have to specify. Amy checked a couple things, its sterilized. You can even customize the stuff. Jeans are really popular. You know the new jeans are, well, new. Not prewashed or distressed. Its all deeply discounted. She is losing money on that. She could sell some of it for twice what she charges for new."

Vicky nodded "Some of the girls at school just turn in their clothes to a machine and get them right back cleaned and pressed. Its cheaper than the cleaners. You can set up a bin on the app for that even. All the places near Arcadia with ATMs have lines at lunch, and they aren't buying junk food and gas." Crystal was setting up the app on her mother and aunts phones.

Sarah swiped through and nodded "So these jeans with the ripped knees came from there? I mean the ones suddenly everywhere, not the designer ones."

Amy nodded and wrinkled her nose "I'll be glad when that isn't a thing anymore."

"Tiger print Spandex needs to go too. Nobody can carry that off. Well nobody over twenty. Yoga pants are the bomb though. Except for those slutty LuLu lemon see through ones." Vicky added.

Eric got the app down loaded and installed and was looking at stuff, particularly skateboards. "Wow, this stuff is cheap. Hey some of it is pretty cool. No tinker tech for sale?"

Mark Dallon, Flashbang, much improved and seemingly cured of his clinical depression, he had been a test case for Armsmaster too, looked over Eric's shoulder. Then leaned over to look at Carol his wife's smart phone "The prices are different?" He offered after a moment. and a few looks back and forth at the scrolling bar at the top of the page.

Crystal nodded "The Econ department is doing a study. It seems to be tied to your means. So the cost is the same proportionately, That's only on anything above base subsistence. Hey wait a minute. Those new jeans are base subsistence, then she sells them when they come back. Hmmm crafty tinker."

Manpower, Neil Pelham, her father laughed "You should write it up for Econ 101 extra credit."

Amy frowned "You know who her law firm is, I know who works with her and who pays them. We can pretty easily guess who she is." Carol drew in her breath in a sharp gasp, Sarah waved her sister down. Amy nodded and continued "My point is we should make an overture before she gets outed and pins it on us. Maybe point out how easy it was for us to figure it most of the way out."

Sarah nodded and looked down at her phone as it buzzed. Carol nodded "That is a good idea Amy, thank you."

Sarah sighed "Soon. Now even. The PRT and Protectorate is having a meeting, affiliates strongly encouraged to attend, rogues allowed, at six P.M. They want to issue a threat briefing for Rodenberry."

"Oh my fucking god, by the numbers, didn't I say?" Carol barked.

Sarah laughed "No, I did. Make the call to the senior partner Carol."

On a shingle beach near the boat Graveyard, squeezed between some boulders, Uber looked at his partner L33t, who was staring at the Star Battlecruiser hanging over the bay, drooling a little. "You OK man?"

"Where the hell did she get dilithium? I mean the snitches sensors say that is a Starfleet warp nine point five reactor. To do that she has to use antimatter in a reactor and to extract power from that reaction she needs a dilithium matrix. The Snitch can see the tertiary EPS conduits so that is how she is doing it. But there is no dilithium on this planet. My power can't even figure out how to make that happen. Boy does it want to though. I can build a Defiant class if I can find the dilithium. We could crew it, just the two of us, with some automation." Leet wiped his mouth.

Uber sighed "But where would we go Buddy?"

"To search out-"

"No, and I am not wearing a red shirt. Ever."

"Awh man!"

In the top floor office of the Med Hall Building, One floor below the penthouse, the North east corner, the office with the best views through its floor to ceiling glass walls on two sides Kaiser sat in his ebony and authentic buckskin throne like chair behind his aircraft carrier sized desk made of Bocote. Drinking seventy five year old scotch, that cost more than most houses, from a three hundred dollar high ball glass like it was Jack Daniels green label.

The parahumans of the Empire stood on the African Blackwood floor of the office, covered in a silk Persian rug which cost more than all of their cars combined watching. Kreig finally sighed "Kaiser?"

Kaiser growled "The truce is still on! As soon as it is over we are finding this Rodenberry and ending her!"

Krieg nodded and led the others out. In the conference room on the south east corner he looked around as they were all seated "Begin looking for Rodenberry." Fenja, Menja, Rune, Alabaster and Crusader nodded. He waved "Dismissed. We will reconvene after the truce ends."

Rune led the crowd leaving. She had places to be. Purity, no longer affiliated with the Empire but with them for this fight as she had fought with them the most watched her leave, nodded and followed.


	4. Chapter 4

Trekking

2A

Taylor bounced up the stairs from the basement after riding the elevator up from her battle stations position inside the duranium armored gel pack tower in an ASRV. She opened the basement door and bounced out into a hug from her dad "Ack! Dad! What?"

Danny leaned back after she returned the hug "Glad you are OK. Now what exactly did you do young lady? The networks are spouting gibberish."

Taylor smirked "So all normal then. Come on. Sit down and I will go over everything. We can use the holoprojector in the kitchen table. I want some tea." Taylor led Danny, Lacey and Kurt to the kitchen and started water for tea, then got them seated and the holoprojector running. She replayed and narrated events and then looked up "Questions?" She asked as she got up for another cup of tea. She had been bouncing up and getting things and making tea as she narrated and answered questions when they paused the projector.

Danny sat back with a frown. Lacey got in first "So Leviathan had dilithium in him?"

Taylor nodded "I know right, tons, literally, four point eight metric tons of pure dilithium left over and in storage even, besides what I used in the reactor and the EPS conduits, proving they are extraterrestrial."

Lacey nodded "We have to get a go at Behemoth. Dilithium would explain how he does all of those things with radiation."

Kurt rubbed his chin "What about the shrieker?"

Taylor shrugged "She ran away to the L3 Lagrange point to hide. I still got sensor readings from the Enterprise though. I can take her."

Danny finally spoke up "Don't get cocky Taylor, she is a precog. We will have to think about her for a while. Maybe put a probe in a Sol orbit. What happened to the waves?"

Taylor grinned "Nala saw that coming and got those replicators out in the bay and along the coast. We were stripping water faster than he could make it. Good thing as it let us put most of the mass we stripped out of him to use making and placing more replicators, about two million of them, filling their materials and reactor bins and then had enough left over to build the Enterprise and get it supplied for a combat patrol.

"We have already picked up five hundred criminals through biometric scanning and the pace is picking up."

Danny nodded and patted the blond Nala's hand "Good. We can use the bounties and that will tie the government up for twenty years.

"Change of Subject, what happened to the Golden Boy?"

Taylor sighed "A forest fire, nine cats, and three building fires. He was on his way here?"

Kurt chimed in "Because the Earth is a sphere. That fucking guy. Those arrest might help the government. Free it up so it can do its other jobs too, maybe. Of course politicians, so this will be a pain in the ass. We need to get the PR people on it."

Lacey cackled and rubbed her hands together "I love it when a plan comes together, muhahahaha."

Merida, one of the later model Skippers, the ones who had changed features slightly, so they didn't look exactly like Taylor, spoke up from the doorway "Cart before the horse." She declared in her Scottish accent. "The corporations are going to go crazy about us cutting into their profits. They will throw money at the politicians who will throw roadblocks at us."

Danny sighed "Just because she named all of you after Disney princesses didn't make you Scottish Merida." Taylor giggled and Merida turned her nose up. Danny continued "They are a year behind a patenting machine. We are willing to sell licenses, they can actually build the stuff if they hire smart enough people. And we have a growing number of lawyers who are circling like we are chumming with cows through a wood chipper. I think we can let it play out."

Kurt nodded "Plus the replicators will take the ones that are dirty that Maleficent has evidence on. That will pitch congress, the senate and the judiciary into a fit no matter how small a percentage it is and I do not believe it is less than four percent."

Maleficent, the Annette Rose looking synthetic sentience appeared in a shimmering sparkle "Felony crimes. Grounds for impeachment are really a political judgement. High crimes and misdemeanors may have meant something when the Framers were alive but since Slick Willy argued the meaning of 'is' for a day they don't mean much." She got hugs from Merida, Nala, and Taylor. "The Protectorate is having a meeting at six PM. We aren't technically invited but Rogues can attend."

Elsa appeared "I'll go. You can beam me out if they try anything, plus I'll be in the MACO base armor so won't even have to change my hair." Elsa was a blond too.

Kurt nodded "I'll go make sure everything is OK in the yard, at the factories and in the mills. Get everyone back to work."

Danny nodded "Those that show up. I suspect a bunch are out drinking. I'll get PR and the Lawyers spun up. Can you get me a recording of that briefing you did for us Taylor?"

Taylor nodded "I'm going to check out the Enterprise!"

"No touching red buttons with red safety covers. And no flying around until you read the manual." Danny admonished.

Lacey smiled at the pout on Taylor and the Skippers faces "I'll go with, we will take your guard and the girls too. Mal?"

"Of course. The brain can take care of herself for a half a day. Plus we are connected anyway. I can probably talk to her from Ganymede with no delay on subspace. She has the manipulators now as well. Elphie will be fine."

Danny nodded "Good. Keep it to antigrav and impulse if you get through the manual. Watch out for Ziz too. Shields up."

Taylor snorted "I think we need a few more crew dad. I'm not sure fifty of us are enough. Might have to study some automation."

Danny whipped out a notebook and wrote 'Crew for ship.' "Uh, how many do you think you need and what are the requirements?" Kurt laughed and laughed on his way out the door. He couldn't wait to see that job go up on the board and then in the want ads.

Trekking

Melanie Dagget left the shelter near the docks and walked straight to her office working her phone to get everyone else in before they started drinking. No sense waste billable hours on a non-event. She called the head of public relations as well. They could steal a march here and escalate the whole thing. That wasn't right, accelerate fit much better. They weren't rising after all, they were just going to go faster now that Taylor, lovely bug that she was, had seized the initiative and gained some momentum. The law was about the precise application of words after all. Her professors had drilled that into her again and again. Misplaced commas had cost money in the past. Hmmm, that alert said replicators had appeared everywhere. She texted Elphie to get a list of what criminals had been arrested.

"What?" She froze looking at an alert from Mal just as she got in the lobby. "Alexandria, you bitch, what the hell are you up too?" This would take some planning. Elsa would need a full briefing. Fuck they had healed Piggot too and still hadn't settled the cantankerous bitch down again. Maybe they could beam a Midol, or twelve, into her. Over the counter stuff should be fine right? Hmm, need to check the web for case law.

Trekking

"Turn ourselves in." Brian, Grue of the Undersiders, nearly shouted.

"Brian, she made a thing that ate an Endbringer. Coil is done for, as soon as he goes outside. I know there are ATMs within five hundred meters of him. Your sister got triggered. I don't know if you are keeping up with current events but we are getting our asses kicked." Lisa, Tatletale, replied.

Alec, Regent, barked a laugh and lay a finger alongside his nose while he winked at Lisa broadly. Aisha smacked him in the stomach and settled down next to him.

Lisa sighed, grabbed Brian's chin and turned his head to face her "She is so deep in the net it is her. All of the net. It doesn't matter she stayed out of the classified net, she can infer it all from open source data. Nobody has, to now, because you would need enormous memory and processing power. She has it to spare. In the freaking vending machines!

"She is fair and we don't kill people. If we surrender ourselves to her we can possibly join her team."

Aisha, Imp, sat upright "And drive around in a big ass space battle ship! I vote yes!"

Alec shrugged "Might let me shoot shit, besides three hots and a cot and, never mind."

Lisa's power supplied " _Father and family won't be able to get to him. Knows Rodenberry doesn't use the death penalty._ " Lisa arched a brow at her power being captain obvious again.

Rachel, Hellhound aka Bitch by preference, shrugged when Brian looked at her "Healed Angelica's eye. Heals all the dogs. Gives me food and stuff for them."

Captain obvious chimed in " _Healed Rachel, subject operating at seventy percent of human normal._ " Lisa blinked, maybe not so obvious then.

Brian sighed "Fine. Fuck. If they split Aisha and I up you will pay for this shit Lisa."

Lisa nodded "She won't. She has a thing about family. We might have to do some time, well not Aisha. She won't split you two up and she will keep Rachel with the dogs. Probably put us to work and take part of our pay for reparations. Rachel should be good because of her trigger and then those fucks trying to assault her. Alec, well there was a master in it. One better than him. Probably get a few years of mandatory counseling."

Aisha snorted "Not before he needs it."

Trekking

Rune, Heidi, call me Rune, some parents shouldn't be allowed to name children, froze "Purity."

Kayden, Anders, Purity stepped up to her "What are you doing?" Runes lips thinned. "Turning yourself in to Rodenberry aren't you. Wait for me to get Theo and Aster and I will join you, we all will."

"Wut?"

Kayden rolled her eyes "Max is going to go up against the thing that has Hookwolf, but hasn't killed him, and ate an Endbringer and didn't even burp, created a couple million more of itself and a starship while it was doing it even. Plus he is full of shit, and a liar, and unfaithful."

Rune winced "So you catching him bed with Nessa and Jess while you were pregnant is true then."

It was Kayden's turn "Wut?" She blushed then nodded.

Rune sighed "And if she gives you to the Protectorate or life in a cell?"

Kayden looked around then leaned close "I did Melanie Dagget's decorating. We talked, all hypothetical, we both knew that was bullshit. I was going to turn myself over before Leviathan."

Rune nodded, then asked "Who the fuck is Melanie Dagget?"

"Rodenberry's head lawyer. Her dad was allegedly a Mob lawyer, a good one." Kayden supplied.

Rune looked around "Your car or my sidewalk slab? There's a vending machine near your apartment right?"


	5. Chapter 5

Trekking

3

Alexandria surveyed the crowd in the theater normally used for inclement weather press conferences and ward introductions. It had a capacity of fifteen hundred and looked to be standing room only. Once the Protectorate, Wards, Independents, and Rogues were seated, Kaiser had fortunately fucked off, the ABB, Oni Lee, had not shown up, neither had the Merchants, and villains wouldn't be invited to this anyway, aside from them probably not making it here past the vending machines which did not respect the truce, and Rodenberry standing in the back, she simply started talking "The first of the vending machines, and that's what they are. Appeared more a year and three months ago. The first was a huge thing. Since replaced by the chest high, sleek model that just killed an Endbringer."

Rodenberry spoke up in that soothing contralto "It is not dead, or perhaps nonfunctional is a better term, I do not believe it was ever biologically alive, while it would be difficult to substantiate the pattern of the avatar, it could be done. The actual core of the Endbringer, a much smaller, harder, mass was transported to a point in space external to this star system. As I told both yourself, and Legend, at the time."

Alexandria sighed as the room exploded in noise. She gave them a minute, reading the thinker evaluations as they scrolled onto her HUD nearly faster than she could read them. 'Biologically alive' and 'core' had set off a firestorm. Were the damn things tinker creations? If so that tinker was going to die. She let the room settle "We will discuss that next then, meanwhile back to the background on you Rodenberry. This new model is the fourth generation of the technology. The original huge model was and is in the section of town known as the Docks, specifically, in the Dock Workers Union yard. It has been modified and now produces materials by the truckload. The trainload even on the two track rail spur in the DWU yard. All managed by the DWU. Rodenberry pays the DWU a ten percent management fee. It doesn't sound like much but with the thing running continuously, and its production measured in tons per minute when it is doing bulk commodities like flour, it adds up.

"Somehow the vending machines are linked to the banking system. That actually makes sense as they appeared near ATMs, as if by magic, all in thirty eight hours, a week after the first, or was it the second one, Since Squealer had stolen the first, appeared. Even the little rip off ATMs in convenience stores, bars, and strip clubs." Alexandria paused and smiled, imagining Armsmaster questioning that, frankly very sexy, contralto voice in the midst of seminude young women in some strip club. "They aren't wired into the ATM's but are suspected to be piggy backing on them." Hmm, Squealer would need to be questioned. It was possible that first one had appeared much earlier which would adjust the timeline and hence the rating of Rodenberry. Or would it. A tinker ten now, so did it matter what she was then? Alexandria sent some orders to her Special PRT Strike team via her HUD, that loop needed closed anyway. Plus even if they flushed her for Rodenberry they would get her back.

"The machines charge on a sliding scale. If a single mother with a minimum wage job gets a pair of pants and a shirt from them, her bank account is hit for a few dollars. A full weeks' worth of groceries cost her near ten dollars. Groceries of a quality that a fine dining chef would not reject. A middle class soccer mom's bank account would be hit for tens of dollars, a one percenters personal shopper would have the one percenters account hit for hundreds, or, depending on how wealthy, thousands. All for the exact same items." Armsmaster, the gloriously autistic Asperger's text book definition, had tested the machines thoroughly, exhaustively even. Where he conscripted the 'volunteers' was not in the report. Something to ask him later. At least how they functioned was tested, recorded, and scanned for any emissions, of any kind. The data from those test was still being analyzed and argued over. All of that was before today's performance.

"The materials from the one in the docks are sent to wholesalers at the market spot price for the commodity. If an order is placed by a business that was unable to pay, it simply waits, unfilled, until the business or individual has enough money in the bank.

"MIRIS is overjoyed. The tinker responsible for the vending machines registering with them as a rogue and getting the name Rodenberry. As opposed to registering in the normal manner." Alexandria looked at Rodenberry.

"I would much rather operate as a normal citizen of the Fede, er United States. While I am happy to assist the heroes, my goal is to help the people as much as possible." The crowd which had turned to look at Rodenberry turned back to Alexandria, expectantly. She suppressed a smile.

"PR defends MIRIS, and Rodenberry, against all comers, like the Texans at the Alamo, willing to die rather than give up, as the vending machines charges the indigent nothing. Even if they have a bank account with five dollars in it somewhere. They also track the homeless, and runaway children, reporting on them daily to the BBPD. Besides feeding them and providing them medical treatment. In the children's case, being a remote guard dog and nanny as long as they are in range of one of the machines.

"The DWU, or a nonprofit organization started by them rather, is now running a shelter for those people, the indigent, homeless and runaway children, that they built next to their compound on ground they own.

"Rodenberry digs the story on the people out of the public information network, or the people themselves through the simple expedient of talking to them as they place their request, and suggest legal defenses, counseling, education, and medical care if they needed them."

Rodenberry interrupted "In some cases the information exchange is quid pro quo, breakfast for information as it were. Legal counsel as well as counseling and education are provided as much as possible." The heads were swiveling again and the thinkers were filling Alexandria's HUD.

Alexandria continued reading off her prepared conversation from the prompter in her HUD. "That last has exposed how deeply the machines were in the information network, and that they scanned the people using them down to the molecular level as a matter of course."

"The public information network. I have respected the classified networks. Though I have taken a feed from all available cameras in public spaces or premises the public use, such as security cameras in businesses. Many of the crimes in the areas of the replicators, that are stopped by them are identified, and targeting data refined, from those cameras. The scans are necessary to both determine the proper nutrient composition of the foodstuffs issued and to provide for any medical conditions present. Plus the fit of any clothing can be properly adjusted." Rodenberry supplied. "Medical care that it is possible to provide in ingestible forms are included in the foodstuffs or beverages. Charges for that treatment on the same sliding scale are taken. In the case of the underprivileged, indigent, or runaway children, Medicare/Medicaid are charged."

Alexandria nodded and watched the thinker window of the HUD spiral into what one of the thinkers would label 'purple'. It was like watching a PHO meltdown in one of the tin foil hat forums bleed over into the whole of PHO. "What you can't get from the machines for free is luxury or illegal goods, tobacco, alcohol, recreational drugs, those kind of things. That isn't saying the machines couldn't make those things. The one in the PRT headquarters cafeteria produces nearly as much of the containment foam binary components as it does ice cream." She smiled at the laugh that got. "Licensed physicians and parahuman healers in good standing can get a pharmacopeia of drugs, some no one has seen or heard of that are still in testing." A pill that regrew organs being a prime example. Alexandria blinked her restored eye. "If you have enough money in the bank you can get a flawless diamond of whatever size you want, in whatever color you want, in whatever cut you want, that can't be distinguished from a natural stone. It also cost the retail price, as do gold, platinum, other gems and precious metals as well. Your tinker budget will be charged for that princes cut four carat diamond Armsmaster." That got a big laugh.

"On top of all of that if you take food and water from them they temporarily 'immunize' you against the same recreational drugs they won't produce. Crime in Brockton bay has dropped thirty percent in the last few months as the machines fully take hold and people get used to using them. PR and MIRIS are crowing." If this went wrong in the end MIRIS would be sacrificed, meanwhile they were the rooster on top of the barn at dawn. PR was the sun peeking over the horizon and getting ever greater exultations from them.

Rodenberry added "Some request for cosmetic procedures have been received, we are reviewing the request and designing suitable procedures and will be costing them out soon."

Alexandria chuckled "WEDGDG, Watchdog is of course following the money and associations of Rodenberry, to absolutely zero effect. She, now they,her and her associates, at least knows that, and run her enterprise like a grocery chain, with the same average one percent profit margin. Of course on revenues of sixteen billion five hundred thousand dollars since the first machine appeared, or rather the second as we know now, that leaves her with a more than a hundred and sixty five million dollars. All of which Watchdog is following. All invested in normal things with clear paper trails and no attempts to crash or control markets. In full compliance with the applicable laws. Which is a bit unnerving really. We have trouble complying with the laws and we have hundreds of compliance officers." Which also seems a bit unnatural for even white hat thinkers. Neutrals and villains would normally try something in the markets and Watchdog would be on them like white on rice. The monthly conference brought up Rodenberry right after the Elite every month, and every month she was clean. The Elite, not so much. Watchdog had broken twenty eight of their operations in the last year alone. Which had Watchdog fighting for space with MIRIS on the barn roof. Rodenberry drove the Elite to excess, Watchdog capitalized. That's not even discussing the legions of small time players in the market places.

"All of this without a single shred of evidence it was anything other than a massively successful business with exponential growth.

"Also taking the DWU, who are handling her logistics, the rail and trucking companies in the north east who are providing the transportation, several construction companies, other companies, and individuals providing necessary services to Rodenberry to new heights and profitability. So much so people are moving into Brockton Bay instead of fleeing it. Perhaps we could get you to come up here and answer a few questions Rodenberry?"


	6. Chapter 6

Trekking

3A

Rodenberry nodded slightly, walked down the gentle slope of the small auditorium and mounted the stairs on the left of the stage before walking to the center next to Alexandria and stopping, nodding at Alexandria and then turning to face the audience.

Armsmaster was on his feet immediately "Your power armor weighs two hundred and twenty seven kilos, yet it appears incomplete. Can you explain?"

Rodenberry paused then shrugged "Not what I would have started with, but it will open a can of worms that should take up the rest of the afternoon. This Chassis weighs one hundred and eighty kilos. The base armor layer weighs seven kilos, the attached gear, including the helmet, weighs forty seven kilos. I would suggest your sensors require calibration."

Dragon asked "This chassis?"

"Much like you Dragon, this is a hmm, let's call it a remote. I am physically elsewhere, though present in all senses, human and otherwise, in this and several other chassis as well as the network that is running the replicators and now the Enterprise."

Armsmaster frowned "Is this chassis capable of independent thought and action?"

Rodenberry grinned "Yes, I'm the bogey man, an AI. Though in this case we prefer to be called synthetic sentient beings." The room stilled and Rodenberry chuckled "Surprise! I would say you did Nazi that coming but Kaiser wimped out. After I did all that work talking the Replicators into not snatching him up too. Oh well his spies will relay the information to him. Uh, you can tell him it was only for this meeting. I dont know how he has been getting past me but it won't last. I will catch him at some point. He does have a bounty after all and I need the money.

"Anyway this is Elsa, she volunteered to come to the meeting. She is letting me ride along.

"Uh Armsmaster, your emitters dont have the range of frequencies necessary or frequency hopping, so you aren't going to be able to cut my signal. Plus then Elsa would take over, it should be seamless but it might piss her off. Plus now she is laughing her hiney off."

Everyone turned to look at Armsmaster and he put his hands up, palm out. Alexandria gave a huff only Taylor and Elsa heard.

"There is a group that actively hunts and destroys AIs-" Dragon was interrupted.

"Yes the Dragon slayers, a minion of differently abled human criminal known as Teacher. I certainly hope they attack one of my instances soon. I am desperately tired of waiting on them and have been pushing replicators toward Montreal and Quebec for months. Most small towns between here and there now have one at least. I like to have one replicator for every five thousand users. If the dragon slayers will present themselves I will be able to apprehend them for theft, attempted murder, murder, war crimes and multiple other charges. There is a large bounty on them as well."

While everyone was digesting that Gallant got a question in "So you are a bounty hunter? You already have Hookwolf, Lung, Bakuda and who knows who else 'in the buffer'."

"Perhaps we should make a synthetic horse for you, no, wait, a donkey? No Gallant, not in the way your tone of voice indicates you believe. Believe me stopping degradation over time in the pattern buffer was a pain in the butt. Resource intensive too. I didn't do it to be a jailor. Unfortunately, with differently abled humans, there are some tough issues regarding their imprisonment? I understand that and the PRT, along with the Protectorate, has made a lot of good faith effort to correct both the facilities and the procedures enough to assure me that they can both hold and give a fair trial to the differently abled humans I am holding.

Did I accept the bounties on them? Yes, it cost me time and resources to hold them. Will I accept the conviction bounties, certainly? Just because someone is a criminal doesn't mean they deserve anything special, or that anyone else should accommodate them in anyway without being compensated. While I don't believe in capital punishment, if you contribute nothing to society you should receive nothing from it, nor should you expect to.

"As an example if Lung simply ramps up his pyro kinesis he can supply heat energy, which can be used for thousands of purposes. If he does he should receive some type of compensation for his effort. Better food, TV privileges, perhaps a computer and information network connection. Some of the income generated could be used to compensate his victims or their families. Perhaps someday he might be judged to be a useful and responsible member of society and released. Provided some type of assurance is to be had that he will not simply reoffend."

"Is that number of replicators to users why they are suddenly being reported as appearing everywhere there is an ATM across the US and Canada?" Battery asked.

Rodenberry actually appeared uncomfortable suddenly "Uh the thinkers might have been right about dematerializing an Endbringer. However we collectively came up with the solution of using some of the material in constructing the Enterprise. I don't know where they are from but it contained both duranium and dilithium. We constructed four hundred replicator emitters in a 'space dock' configuration in the bay using the replicators in place here in Brockton Bay, and used the material from the Leviathan to build the ship, with some improvements, like the null grave emitters. We then used the remainder to construct the replicators, like the one on the board walk, next to the ATMs. They are really transporters, They or rather the existing ones were short ranged, so it was kind of a wave of them spreading from here. it was easy to target the ATMs using the financial network.

"It was helpful in using some of the more exotic elements in both energy production and to fabricate the space dock replicators, then the Enterprise, and finally the one million, seven hundred eighty two thousand, three hundred and sixty four replicators that are now installed across North America. Sort of a safety valve on the energy and material storage facilities. Now though we have enough we can probably do the other two Endbringers if we can catch them in range. The Simurgh ran away to the L3 Lagrange point and Behemoth is down in the core being really still. I would hate to put holes all in the core trying to hit him." The room exploded. On Alexandria's HUD the thinker window was gibberish.

Emily Piggot, the Director of the Brockton Bay and East North East region brought quite by roaring at Rodenberry "You healed me without permission! That's assault with a Parahuman power!" The room froze. Alexandria glared at Director Piggot.

Rodenberry shrugged "It's not actually parahuman, it's just very advanced. It's not even nanites. As your scientist and doctors study the drugs and review the equipment and procedures for its use they will figure that out. The drugs are either patented or patents applied for.

"With dematerializing the Endbringer and the influx of non-terrestrial, and even extra galactic, not to mention extra dimensional, material like the dilithium, to our stores we can easily cure most disease, and heal most injuries, on this planet. Leviathan was a bit of a material bonanza.

"Of course the politics and general resistance to technology will be a hindrance to that, so we will probably never be completely successful. Most people will come around though, eventually. Arresting those who cannot get along in society, reeducating, rehabilitating and/or confining them, along with providing at least minimal subsistence food and water, plus minimally adequate shelter, should free mankind for other pursuits and allow us to improve the environment on this planet, colonize the Moon, then Mars. We can then mine Jupiter, colonize its moons, mine Saturn and Uranus before making the leap to the stars and then checking out some of the other things we have data on in this universe."

Alexandria summed up the reaction to that "Wut?"

Trekking

Legend stood on the flat deck of the Protectorate base, a modified oil platform, in the bay looking at the two hundred eighty nine feet tall, eight hundred and twenty two feet wide, two thousand two hundred and forty eight feet long, dark gray starship. The portions of it that were an ominous glowing red set off nicely by the glowing blue portions. It was dangerous looking. Even in the dark of this moonless night. It was near midnight, Rodenberry had had to do other things but Elsa had stayed and was still at the PRT building answering questions and driving the thinkers, and the tinkers, to drink. When he left by walking to a wall outlet and extruding a three prong plug and plugging herself in. The ship though. Classified as a heavy cruiser by Rodenberry, ha, unfortunate name that, now that they knew she was a tinker, a tinker that somehow had all the plans from the Earth Aleph fictional Star Trek universe in her head and the ability to make them a reality. A heavy cruiser with enough fire power to crack the planet. Or a tinker with the plans for a torpedo she said could terraform a planet. Of course it might destroy it too. The chances of that approached zero, she had improved it, she said, if you believed her.

"You should ask Rodenberry for a stateroom aboard Enterprise." Eidolon said as he landed.

Legend nodded as the other member of the triumvirate landed next to them "I have a feeling you are right, it should be more comfortable than the room here on the rig, plus it has better shields for when the Simurgh comes to visit."

Alexandria shrugged "Plus you are going to be here at the new center of the Universe quite a bit. Rodenberry is going to move it tonight when everyone settles down, into a position where it can shield the Rig until she gets shield emitters built for the rig tomorrow."

Eidolon laughed "All for the paltry price of the full faith and credit of the PRT, those and the emitters for all the PRT and Protectorate bases. Fuck. We are tied to a teenage tinker, who none of us have even seen. What a difference a day makes?"

Legend shrugged "Not like what she looks like matters is it?"

Alexandria shook her head "Not anymore. We need to go have a meeting before anything else. There is the possibility we need to do some repair work and shut down an organization."

The other two nodded. Eidolon replied, "I'll meet you there. I need to make a stop."

Trekking

Danny Hebert arrived home and found his daughter in the living room, snuggled in a blanket on the couch with her visor laying on the table in front of her. She didn't need it to see anymore, her eyes had been repaired, but it had her connection to the neural network, or the main broadcast booster of her positronic implants rather. She wasn't asleep, easy to tell as she had the cutest snore in the world. Always when she was sleeping. Never failed. It was like a giant cat purring. "So big day."

Taylor snorted "At least the rain stopped." She also woke up easy. She didn't open her eyes.

Danny chuckled "The girls all running around on their own?" By girls he meant the forty six, forty nine? How many was it now? Anyway, different synthetic sentient beings Taylor had created.

Taylor nodded "Rose is in charge. You know she likes to 'mom' everyone."

"How hot did she get? That was a lot of activity there while you all ate Leviathan."

Taylor nodded "Cooked some fish with the heat exchanger out in the bay. Building the Enterprise should cover it."

Danny couldn't help it, he laughed "So you built a starship, a heavy cruiser, to cover boiling the bay."

"Hey don't laugh, remember the original Godzilla? Those boiled fish were creepy! Plus it somehow got all tangled up in my head that that is how they discovered Godzilla. I don't want them finding Rose or her reactors. Besides that thing is fucking cool. And more a battle ship than a cruiser. Its weapons have weapons.

"Anyway, we had the plans for it already done as we have been working on them to learn engineering, physics, mathematics, computer engineering, everything really.

"I may have to hunt down Ziz or Behemoth too, we got enough crap out of Leviathan to build enough anti matter reactors for the Enterprise, all of its shuttles and the captain's yacht, plus enough left over to build a reactor to run Rose so we get more space to put in more gel packs."

"Because someone could actually get through five layers of level ten shields and two corbomite reflectors to hurt the twenty story tower of gel packs encased in two meters of duranium. And figure out how to get to her interface to subvert her, in the space you could park a supercarrier in. Which is filled with carbon dioxide." Danny snarked at her, grinning.

"You never know, fucking tinkers, am I right? And Rose can't help her system sheds waste gas through the gel pack walls." Taylor smiled mischievously.

Danny moved to his chair "So you did pick up the boiled fish right? Those will be a good source of protein for Rose."

Taylor smirked, Dad was getting more and more used to the Maleficent and Rose combo. She was the first Synthetic they had created together. They built it all. Well the base of it all and Rose, Well, she had ended up kind of imprinted with Mom. It bled over to Maleficent. Then the replicators, the visor was next, then things got a little hectic. The first reactor in there somewhere. Six months or so were a bit of a blur. She looked just like mom, Mal did. Since Rose imprinted the fully mobile synthetic sentient beings they got a little mom or Taylory? Was that even possible, or actual words? Bah, it was good for him. Mal never left the house, but she did come up sometimes and talk. When she wasn't doing maintenance, or medical checks, or installing more gel packs. She had caught them in the kitchen cooking together the other day. Cooking! Like there wasn't a replicator right beside the microwave.


	7. Chapter 7

Trekking

4

To Boldly Go

Eidolon stepped through the door to the conference room and sat, smoke gently rising from him. The green light from inside his cowl intense but contained. He sat for a moment then started, the light died and he flipped his cowl back "Sorry, bit winded."

Contessa looked at him with what could only be dawning horror. Doctor Mother narrowed her eyes. Alexandria sighed "'I have something to do.' Was that something the Slaughter House Nine David?"

"Manton and Gramme, well that was the intent. Of course Jack thought he could object. I did manage to save Riley. I gave her to the closest vending machine. The one that ate Crawler, the new girl, the crazy fire one and Shatterbird."

Doctor Mother looked at him "What did you do?" He ignored her.

Legend finally spoke, until now he had been sitting rigidly "We are the problem." He hadn't really taken Rebecca telling him all the secrets of Cauldron well.

David sighed "We will do the best we can. It got a bit out of control. Hero, well he was the best of us. Rodenberry can perhaps set us back on the right path. She has that whole 'to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.' thing going on. I think it's something to aspire too. Something we should turn man toward.

"Contessa, Fortuna, I am assuming you cannot path her?

Fortuna nodded "Nor can I model her yet."

"I don't believe that is what we decided." Doctor Mother objected. David ignored her again. She slapped the table "Excuse me!"

David turned to her "Yes, I think you are excused. We will call you if we require your assistance."

"What?"

"David?" Alexandria asked in a tense voice.

David smiled "Your assistance has been appreciated Doctor Mother, and will be appreciated in the future. I'm not sure that the leadership of the organization can be left in the hands of what is frankly a country doctor from Ivory Coast who lucked into finding one of the most powerful parahumans in all the earths though.

"I mean look at the mess we now have to clean up.

"Number man, I killed your boyfriend, smeared him over a hundred yards of country road in Illinois actually, I enjoyed it. If you move I will do the same to you.

"Doctor Mother, Fortuna still needs you, perhaps. Your power descends through her really. Don't get me wrong I am grateful, but you essentially lucked into giving us powers, all of us. The ones that weren't so lucky, well that's a problem. A problem we can now potentially fix with Rodenberry's help. It's possible her technology can restore some, perhaps all of the case fifty threes. We will need to find a genetic sample of them from before you dosed them with one of your witch doctor brews, but you have those don't you.

"We will also need to hire all the parahuman psychologist. Number Man you will facilitate that. Rebecca, we need to turn the PRT around rather than having it fight its holding action. Legend the same with the Protectorate.

"If we have a sample of hero's DNA and the records of the vial he took I think we should try to bring him back. Oh it won't be our Hero, it's mostly nurture after all and I don't think we can recreate his life. His potential should not be lost to the race however.

"It's time to go to work boys and girls."

Rebecca blinked as Fortuna slumped in her seat "David?"

David sighed "This is going to take a while isn't it."

Legend barked a laugh and the glow in his hand Kurt Wynn, Number Man, Harbinger, had been watching in his peripheral vision died. "Have an interesting side trip did you David?"

David sighed "Fucking changers, you have no idea. Goddamn Crawler was a pain in the ass until I thought about feeding him to the replicator. Plus I had to drop a tractor on Hatchet Face, or whatever his name was. He couldn't out brute a 4320 John Deere from five thousand feet."

Legend blinked then laughed "Nothing runs like a Deere David?"

Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose "And do you remember where this was? I mean if we are going to turn to the side of the angels this farmer will need a new one. You couldn't have used a Mahindra?"

Doctor Mother looked at the smiling parahumans around the table "Wut?"

Trekking

Danny stood on the bridge of the Enterprise looking at his Daughter, who was sat in the captain's seat "Engage number one!"

Danny chuckled "Lose the British accent and the deep voice Little Owl. It's a bit ridiculous when you do it." Taylor pouted at him. "So fifteen hundred crew."

Taylor nodded like a bobble head "No families on the first cruise as we shake out and make sure we aren't going to bump into an astro wolf. Star Fleet academy first though. I have to build a bunch of trainers and we need to put up the buildings for an academy. Get the syllabus written. Figure out the purpose of that Kobiashi Maru thing. Find a grounds keeper guy to be the head doctor, sane voice, whatever. So much to do!"

Nala laughed "Whack the Simurgh, Behemoth, and figure out what the golden idiots deal is."

Danny sat in the first officer's seat, Maleficent folded into onto the jump seat cushion beside him and patted his back. He smiled then shook his head "Maybe slow down and write it all down Taylor. A plan is a good place to start."

Jasmine, the synthetic sentience named Jasmine with her black hair all the way to the middle of her thighs if loose and now caught in a hank, banded every six inches with gold bands a half inch wide, nodded "A plan is good. Keeps the monkeys in line."

Chuck, one of the close security beefcake arched a brow "I'm Black, I am not wearing a red shirt."

A panel beside Taylor lit up, a tone sounded and Roses voce came from seemingly everywhere "Captain, seven parahumans and two normal humans are attempting to turn themselves in to the replicators in two separate locations."

Taylor clapped her hands like a little girl "Our first volunteers for the Academy. Beam them here to the Bridge Rose!

Danny jerked "Taylor is that a-" the shimmering lights happened, and The Undersiders, three dogs, Purity with Astor, Theo, and Rune were looking around the Bridge " good idea?"

Chuck smiled "He can wear the red shirt." He was looking through the sights of his M4 at Grue.

Grue turned to Tattletale "I am so spanking you."

Regent shook himself "Well, I feel better?" Imp who was outlined in a white glow, smacked him in the belly with the back of her hand and appeared the glow disappeared. She vanished and the glow appeared. She sighed and appeared again. Pouting.

Maleficent nodded "You had a touch of the flu."

They were all looking where Taylor had run up and glomped Rachel. The dogs hadn't moved, other than to turn around to sniff or head butt Taylor. Who after hugging Rachel had dropped to a knee and was hugging the dogs. Taylor looked up at Rachel "Where are the rest of the doggies? Are they all right? I mean we took care of the waves, but that was a lot of rain."

Rachel nodded "Little water got in. The thing ate it. It kind of washed the yard clean."

Taylor nodded "I thought that reshaping the yard would help. What's with all the empire guys the replicator has been picking up by the shelter?"

Rachel sighed "It's in their territory. They hear the dogs barking."

Taylor nodded "No more dogfighting rings? Do you need more beacons?" Rachel shook her head.

Lisa smiled "Rachel have you been holding out on us?"

"It's Taylor, she helps, dogs like her."

Lisa nodded "And you didn't know she is the real Rodenberry because she just showed up. Then two of these showed up and put in the vending machine." She was looking around at Nala, Jasmine, Rapunzel Ariel, Belle, and Cindy, short for Cinderella.

Rachel looked around "One, she isn't here. Put a marker on the floor and the machine appeared. Good for dog food."

Taylor nodded, then sighed "Elsa is still messing around with the PRT. They are a little freaked. She is having fun though."

Lisa snorted "Introduce us Rachel?"

"Grue, Regent, Tattletale, Imp, my team. Purity, Rune, Nazi's. Don't know the others."

Rune opened her mouth, then shrugged "Fair enough. I mean we were with the Empire. Not a Nazi though, just got kinda sold to them. It's complicated, family shit. Purity left. Her daughter Aster and her stepson Theo Anders."

Tattletale sat in the helm position "Kaisers son, the heir to the empire. Not a Parahuman. Third generation. How have you not triggered. Wow, years of mental abuse if nothing else. I would think you would be a skill thinker twelve plus after that. Maybe an outside shot at Shaker or Breaker."

Purity who had a slight but fading glow nodded "Thinker, Tattletale, how apt, Hellhound, a master shaker, Regent another master, a human master, formerly Hijack, one of Heartbreakers children, Grue, Shaker, darkness generation. Imp was it? A stranger? But this ship knows where you are and is marking you out?"

Maleficent nodded "Intrusion detection system."

"Which is not cool." Imp added.

Maleficent smiled coolly and introduced all of Taylor's people. Danny nodded as everyone digested the introductions "So you decided to turn yourselves in to Taylor instead of the PRT."

Lisa, Tattletale gave another of her grins "Well you are going to need a crew for this thing. At least that was the thought." She looked around at the hard eyed Synthetic sentience's. "Now I'm not so sure Taylor, Rodenberry, can't make her own."

Taylor stood up from the dogs "Bit resource intensive. Plus we hope to help people? Hadn't really planned on starting by rehabilitating villains. The PRT does it all the time though, so we should be able to swing it.

"We are picking up a criminal about every fourteen seconds. Leave out the ones who committed violent crimes, let the system deal with them, and we could have a big pool. A lot of it is situational stuff. I mean look at Rachel, was it her fault her foster mother was an ignorant cow? If they can make it through the academy and the psychologist we could turn out ok. The Parahumans are a bit different. Though some of them got railroaded like Canary. Like they want to do to Rachel, or wanted. That shit is overwith.

"Oh! Rose make sure to talk to Paige and see if she wants to join. She has to be bored on that ranch. No neighbors for fifty miles and half the year you have to have a dogsled to get there.

"Meanwhile you are aboard a capitol ship of a foreign power. I don't think they can take you.

"Might have to put Star Fleet academy on Mars. Bit light on the gravity but it's doable. Grave plates aren't that tough and don't use that much power, plus they can double as part of the heating. Mars is freaking cold!

"Rose how we doing on that genesis torpedo?"

The contralto voice came from everywhere again. "Mulan and Aiko are nearing completion of the warhead. Once that is complete we can simply install it in a photon torpedo casing. We should be extra atmosphere for launch however."

Danny opened his mouth but Maleficent beat him to it "Taylor dear, why don't we investigate the possibilities before we terraform Mars. That is bound to bring further complications."

Taylor huffed "A week, then we are moving on. Not like they have ships to fight me. We can swing by and suck up the birdy bitch on the way, give us some material to work with. Mars is a little light anyhow. Hey, if we send the gecko there he would make us some water."

Lisa's mouth opened and closed. Then she rubbed her temples "My power is racing but I have no headache?

"Most parahumans have urges to conflict, some more than others, you triggered and disappeared? Have you been suppressing your conflict drive this whole time? Is that why Leviathan got smoked?

The voice from everywhere answered "Heat. You have been slightly modified to accommodate your power, a heat exchanger has been installed subcutaneously in your back."

Taylor sighed "Say goodbye to sleeping on your back. You'll wake up roasting."

Nala hugged her from behind "But you will be so snuggly."

Alec, Regent, looked at Lisa's fish impression and collapsed laughing.

Trekking

Emily looked at the monitor "Three days. She has been answering questions for three days, twenty four hours a day, online, by video teleconference, and in person simultaneously, and other than taking up our executive conference facility, essentially turning it into her office, and pugging herself back in the wall we haven't seen her be uncomfortable or stop."

Rebecca Costa Brown nodded in the window on the monitor "She and hence they, Rodenberry's organization, have been remarkably open as well. She only refuses to answer questions about proprietary or deeply personal information.

"The medical treatments you received have been examined. By both normal researchers and parahumans, thinkers, tinkers and healers. She didn't lie. The medical researchers are frankly astounded they didn't see the possibilities before.

"Not that they can duplicate any of the work, or build a transporter and have the facility to rearrange a genome. They have neither the machines nor the materials necessary. I'm afraid we are at the building tools to build the tools to build some of the molecules stage. It is slow going, and meanwhile she files for five new patents a day between drugs and technology. It is not tinker tech however."

Emily nodded "And she appears from nowhere. A tinker ten. Possibly triggered by Shadow Stalker before she was a ward, a year and four months ago. Squealer stole the first replicator a week before the second one appeared and was unable to use it, or most of its components. Other than the fusion power source and the dimensional pockets it uses to store material.

"She somehow manages to stay completely covert, possibly with the support of Daniel Hebert and the dock workers. Then Leviathan and there she is. Sprung forth fully formed.

"My people are telling me the story is remarkably coherent, does not change, and elements of it are starting to be verified through external sources by investigation.

Rebecca nodded "Unbelievable I know. The reactions I am getting from the politicians would be hilarious if this was some kind of candid camera prank."

Director Tagg from the Madison containment zone broke in in the pause "We should recruit her or eliminate her."

Rebecca nodded on the video and sent her special strike team some instructions via her secure text connection to them. Tagg was obviously not going to be able to survive the new reality. How exactly were they to eliminate someone who had shields an Endbringer couldn't break. Endbringers who had routinely tanked Nukes in the early days of their appearance. Someone who now had experience with an Endbringer and who had defeated that Endbringer. Something Scion had never done, for whatever reason. Someone who had what the thinkers were telling her was a completely functional space battleship capable of faster than light travel across most of the Universe. It was time he went into M/S confinement and got some psychological assistance. Or resisted arrest and got a bullet and his widow a survivors benefit, either one really.

AN: OK where to next folks?


	8. Chapter 8

Trekking

4A

Where no Malformed Giant Gecko has Gone Before

Danny woke up and made his way from the cabin Mal had shown him to last night to the bridge. Mal brought him a thing like a TV tray with breakfast on it. Then she sat on the jump seat pad beside him. Danny picked up the cup of steaming coffee and sipped deeply. He sighed and turned to Mal much brighter eyed than moments ago. Mal was grinning at him. The same grin Annette had sometimes had. He looked around as he retracted his head towards his shoulders like a turtle. He looked at the view screen and the blue green ball hanging in space with the wispy clouds. "We're in space. I'm going to be late for work."

Mal rolled around on the floor of the bridge laughing. Danny pouted. Mal finally sat up and leaned back against the row of seats "You can telework. Notice anything?"

"We're in Space."

Mal looked at him "About the planet, notice anything about the planet."

Danny looked again and concentrated as the planet spun below them. "That isn't earth, and does it have a shield?"

Mal hopped up and clapped, walking toward the main view screen and pointing at the planet. "So the girls stayed up last night talking with the other young people."

Purity followed Nala, who had Aster in her arms, onto the bridge "Yes, because apparently a giant slumber party was called for. Your daughters are very, erh, outgoing?"

Danny shrugged "Daughter." Purity looked at Nala who looked exactly like Taylor with different hair and eye colors and then gave Danny a Look. Danny winced "Wow, do all of you go to school to learn that look?"

Purity scoffed "Yes, labor and delivery are the final exam."

Mal cleared her throat as Nala got Purity and Aster settled and then trotted off to get a towel for Purity to use while she was feeding Aster. "So anyway, they were talking and decided to test out the Enterprise. I told them impulse only."

Danny looked around and Mal rolled her eyes "Yes yes, everything is fine and they didn't dent the space ship, run over any satellites, hit the moon parallel parking, or any of that. They got to talking some more, and someone mentioned very few missions went to Venus so there were less likely to be claims on it. And the gravity was ninety one percent of earth normal. Plus it is closer than Mars."

Danny nodded "Except for that pesky no oxygen thing, and you know being a thousand degrees, oh and atmospheric pressure on the surface being not survivable, it's a garden spot. Would have been my first choice for a visit."

Mal ignored the sarcasm "Exactly. So they needed water. Easy enough, they beamed Leviathans core there. He went a little nuts. Apparently he didn't appreciate the sulfuric acid bath."

Purity, now nursing Aster giggled "He is a little young for a peel."

Mal trotted out her look "Et tu Brute?"

Danny looked at her "You haven't been to labor and delivery?"

"And yet I have forty nine of your daughters running around."

""Wow, Danny maybe you should slow down." Purity grinned at him.

"I can't win, fine. So Leviathan is on Venus getting dissolved and fights it off with dilution being the solution to pollution."

Mal tapped her chin "Good enough, yes. The children enjoy watching him for several hours in between exploring this ship, and he manages to mostly get enough water to keep himself in one piece. That's when we noticed he was breaking the covalent bond of the CO2 and using the oxygen with hydrogen he got from somewhere to make the water. Reducing the weight of the atmosphere and increasing the oxygen. The water that boiled became water vapor and we got clouds, then rain, which combined with the sulfur in the atmosphere gave us acid rain-"

"Which he diluted some more, cooling the planet, and we ended up here, fast forwarding through millions of years of evolution of the earth. Without using the planet killing bomb and wrecking the orbits of every planet in the solar system. Nice. So where are the kids?

"Wait, wait don't tell me, they fell asleep, or the squishy ones did, so the duranium ones put them to sleep in quarters somewhere."

Mal touched her nose "Taylor and Rachel in the captains quarters behind that door which leads to her ready room/office and then through there to her suite."

Purity asked "So where are we?"

"Ah good question. We are in earth orbit where we can watch what happens on Venus, our motion still relative to Venus, and see if the Simurgh sticks her head out from behind the sun so I can get a lock on her. If I do we are getting a bunch of Defiant class ships.

"When Leviathan has completed his job on Venus we will park him outside the orbit of Pluto and then talk to the UN about the stellar job we did on Venus and see how much they want to fight us over Mars."

Danny grinned "And none of this will be a giant pain in the ass, piss Taylor off, and have her do whatever she wants at all."

Purity eyed him "You are awful sanguine about this."

Danny shrugged "She is a good girl, big dreams, I'll pick up the pieces, dust her off, and talk about lessons learned when something goes wrong."

"And if the worst happens?"

Danny shrugged "I'll already be dead so the me from the buffer can do it. I have to get to work so beaming me down will refresh the copy in there anyway."

Purities eyes got huge "Wut?"

Danny laughed. Mal rolled her eyes and swatted him on the arm gently. "One of the problems with transporter technology is that the buffer is essentially computer memory. So in the past, future? On TV? Anyway it was finite. And if heavily loaded subject to pattern degradation. Which meant you couldn't hold persons in the buffer indefinitely.

"Taylor used dimensional pockets which are inviolable and gel pack storage so she doesn't have that limitation. She does have to create a maintenance synthetic sentient for each replicator or transporter though. They do the maintenance.

"They also have a network that they all use and we feed problems too. Millions of the fastest AI's in the world linked in a hive mind sort of a deal, with nearly limitless storage. The girls, the forty eight others aside from me, are the test to get a model that worked best with the replicators. The ones with the replicators do not want to be separated from them. They are happy to be in the subspace network though."

Purity laughed and laughed, then looked down at Aster. "Your daddy is so boned."

Mal nodded "Yes, yes he is."

Danny asked "So before I go to work, any chance of getting the news up on this thing? Channel seven by preference."

Mal huffed and put it on. Purity snickered "Men, am I right? Big boobs and a short skirt."

Danny protested "Dianne is a meteorologist."

Mal nodded "Who has big boobs, wears short skirts and is married to Juan."

Danny nodded "Exactly."

Purity laughed and changed breast with Aster "He doesn't even realize he lost. And you have forty nine kids with him." Mal arched a brow at her.

Danny found the volume control "And in the national news, the local tinker Rodenberry has moved her Starship from over the Protectorate base into orbit and conducted what our local experts are calling sea trials, apparently in preparation for a shakedown cruise."

"That's right Janet, Dianne any chance of a weather forecast for her sea trials?"

The camera panned over and sure enough, not only a short skirt but a tight one. "You know that's more NASA's purview than mine Juan, but winds aloft are not bad with the jet stream having dropped south and the high holding in the local area after Leviathans normal dynamite low's were broken up by his capture, she has great weather for flying, visibility unlimited. Extra atmosphere the low sunspot activity should give her a gentle solar wind hopefully not interfering at all.

"The Simurgh is off the radar at the L3 Lagrange point, as we discussed yesterday morning that is the Lagrange point behind the sun from us here on earth, so she is hidden from our sensors. We don't know about Rodenberry's capabilities but she never went past a quick loop around the moon so the Simurgh is probably hidden from her as well."

Danny looked at the two women, erh females, whatever and raised a brow. Purity laughed and Mal slapped him on the arm "So she has good writers who were probably up all night coming up with that twaddle. We moved the ship at seven last night. And solar wind means nothing to us with the shields."

Dianne continued "Meanwhile the shift in Venusian weather continues and has been confirmed to be rapidly developing into earth like conditions. Rodenberry is suspected to be the cause of that. Somehow. I don't really see how, the amount of power that would take is staggering."

Janet cut in, a little snarkily truth be told, "More power than it took to build a starship larger than a supercarrier in minutes Dianne?"

Juan smoothly defused the morning news team "I think we have yet to see Rodenberry's limits. Meanwhile more local criminals have been turned over to the Wards and then the BBPD en mass by the replicators. Also the Protectorate was in action picking up five parahumans from a replicator in the PRT parking garage.

"After the break Ally has a piece on getting the most for the least from your neighborhood replicator."

The news room pulled back to a long shot of the two anchors sitting and the weather woman standing in her short skirt showing miles of tanned leg, and faded to a commercial. An Exxon commercial extolling the virtues of their gasoline with its many additives over just plain pure gasoline. Danny drummed his fingers while the women smirked at each other "Exxon is trying to infer their gas is better."

Purity listened wide eyed. Mal nodded, Danny continued "What they don't say is it cost a dollar a gallon more. I don't think we have to worry Danny. We even got the targeting worked out so people can pull up to drive up ATMs and get a fill up rather than getting a five, or one, gallon container and needing to return the container."

Danny scowled and the women broke up laughing. He looked around "What?" Purity waved him off and stood up to go change Aster at the security station. Or was it tactical two. Taylors Enterprise bridge was laid out slightly differently and combined elements from Enterprise D and E. A more command and control efficient layout rather than a screen friendly or tone setting layout.

Danny was still trying to figure out how he was losing again when Taylor and Rachel appeared with Mulan. Shortly after both Turbo lifts opened and deposited the rest of the people who had stayed aboard. Taylor moved to the Captains seat, Lisa moved to Tactical one and they all settled somewhere. Regent at Operations where he immediately began running combat simulations like the ship was a big gaming device. Merida rolled her eyes and made sure he was locked in simulation mode. Morning Dad! No work today?" Taylor asked.

Danny looked at her "Well, I could go in, except for you know, being in orbit?"

Ariel beat Taylor to it "I'll show you where the transporter room is. We have badges for the dock workers that are communication devices as well as transporter beacons anyway. You can make sure they know how to use them and hand them out."

"That was awful fast. What have you girls got planned." Danny asked.

Taylor shrugged "Chasing the Simurgh around the sun a couple times." She grinned "Actually, talking. Lisa is like totally freaked and wants a plan, one that covers the next three or four hundred years apparently. I want to run a level one diagnostic. Mal wants to keep an eye on the gecko and send him back to cold storage when he is done helping."

Mal interrupted "And keep an eye out for Ziz, curiosity killed the cat after all, might take care of her too."

Taylor nodded in acquiescence "Elsa is going to finish up playing mind games with the Protectorate and PRT today and we will beam her up. We need to get the lawyers working on our recruits legal troubles. Hey, where do you think we could put a couple of high rises, say seventy five or eighty stories? With a view of the water?"

"Eighty stories? Concord should give you a view."

"I'm serious Dad. Give it some thought please. I want to get rolling on an Academy. Oh we need teachers, equipment, wow, everything really.

"I guess I really do need to do some planning." Taylor heaved a sigh.

Danny laughed and kissed her on the head on the way to the turbolift "Don't strain yourself Taylor, we have some time. You moving the ship is going to pitch everyone into fits. After that we will have the fight about Venus, in there somewhere will be the fight over all these folks. I'll have the lawyers call, and let the PR folks know they might be busy. Mal, keep an eye on things? Come on Ariel."


	9. Chapter 9

Trekking

5

Seek Out New Life

Lisa looked at the plate of fried chicken in front of her. Cold fried chicken. Why was this still her favorite comfort food, even here, nearly forty thousand kilometers up, travelling over three kilometers a second. Man, you just thought you knew distance until you got up here.

"A little work with the replicator though, and it made fried chicken that would make Colonel Sanders and that Popeye's woman weep. Mashed potatoes and slaw too. And the freaking biscuits! Plus sweet tea. She was going to hell fat as a hog.

Lisa bit into the thigh. All these hard eyed android girls, they saw through her bullshit like it was nothing. They also didn't take any shit, or let her give Taylor any. The girl didn't really need that much protection though. She wasn't naïve. She had been shot in the head after all. Brian being shot in the side had been bad, but a headshot. Lisa shuddered.

They were well and truly away from Coil though. Ha! Forty thousand kilometers away! Plus with the data connections she had from here, Coil didn't stand a chance. As soon as she worked up the nerve to talk to Taylor about it he, and his bank accounts, were toast.

Meanwhile, holy cow, talk about work! Figuring out a syllabus for this crazy ass Starfleet Academy of hers was it. Payback for the pleasure of destroying everything Coil had done or stood for? Even with the Voice of God, or Rose, helping. Many, or millions, of hands did make the work lighter though.

Trekking

Dinah Alcott ran toward her favorite getaway spot, and as she rounded the corner grinned as the sparkling began around her. She looked around where she landed and her mouth dropped open. This wasn't the WaWa by her house? "Holy crap, am I in space? Where did you send me Vendy? Wait, why is there gravity if I am in space?"

Mal rolled her eyes "Rose got tired of moving you around town. Plus we need to shuffle some of your kidnappers to longer term storage away from node thirty eight. How many criminals can gather that close to a middle school? Drug dealers, gang bangers, pedophiles. We may have to start keeping some of these just to keep them away from the schools."

Dinah looked at the woman and blinked "Who are you?"

"Maleficent, and you are Dinah Alcott. Who makes a habit of using the Replicators for personal transport."

Dinah dug her toe in the tight woven carpet of the bridge "Well Vendy, the replicator at the Seven Eleven, snatched me up when some men tried to kidnap me and dropped me off at the WaWa by my house."

Maleficent nodded "Yes, I know. It also took four men into the buffer. Every week or so we acquire four to eight more. I think it's time we sort this problem out permanently.

"Right now you are on the Bridge of the Enterprise, which is in a geostationary orbit over Brockton Bay. For a few more hours. Then we will need to move over the pole to keep both Venus and the Sun clear for the instruments."

Dinah sat in the helm station "Cool. Uh can we call mom? I mean I think I am going to be late getting home?"

Maleficent nodded "Late at the very least."

Trekking

"Mom! Dad! I'm joining Starfleet!" Dinah charged her parents as soon as the sparkling stopped and they were stood on the transporter platform.

Mayor Christner and Melanie Dagget smiled as the Alcott's dealt with their daughter. Danny started making introductions and Taylor led the group to the command conference room off the bridge. Harriet Alcott nee Christner listened to their daughter as they walked and then looked at the head of the conference table surprised as the dark haired teenager took that seat. She was fairly sure, or had been rather, that introduction was to humor Dinah, a teenage Captain? "Sorry."

Taylor smiled "Parahumans, what are you going to do right? Most of us trigger as teenagers."

Charles Alcott shook his head "So Dinah is a parahuman. When the headaches went away we thought it was a phase she went through."

Lisa, in a Domino mask and Starfleet Grey on black with a operations colored light yellow undershirt uniform with black boots. Starfleet blue underwear under it all of course. The best fitting underwear Lisa had ever had, shook her head "Thinker. The scans from the sick bay clearly show a Corona Pollentia and Gemma. Very active. A precognitive of substantial power. Not infallible though." She looked at Dinah, who huffed at her.

Maleficent sighed "No thinker battles please. Dinah's headaches were caused by her power. On her first trip through the transporter connected to the replicator near her school to her usual destination, the WaWa near your house, she was diagnosed and then on her next trip she was modified to prevent damage to her brain."

"Vendy gave me a radiator Mom! Under the skin of my back." Dinah, in a smaller Starfleet uniform, couldn't let the other thinker steal a march, turned her back to her mom "You can only feel the heat, not the radiator at all. You can't see it, or feel it either!"

Maleficent nodded "This modification, and the commensurate increased blood volume, has been developed on Rodenberry, to ease her thinker power and keep it performing at its peak, Tattletale here as she experienced headaches like Dinah and now Dinah."

Charles nodded "I'd like to see the documentation and get an independent confirmation it is OK, none of that answers why you were using the replicators as transporters Dinah? Why weren't you riding the bus?"

Tattletale supplied "My boss, Coil, likes having thinkers on staff. My former boss now. He made me an offer I couldn't refuse, work for him or take two in the head. He had his goons snatch me off the boardwalk to make the offer."

Mayor Christner glowered "That's the one the PRT is unsure even has powers? He uses mercenaries? And he had the Undersiders?"

Lisa nodded "Circus, Trainwreck, he was working on some others, but things were, I don't know if he ever got them hired on. The travelers. He does have powers, some kind of probability manipulation.

"The Undersiders were a bit busy trying to stay alive after he had us rob Lungs casino, the Ruby Dreams. Then well Leviathan and now, we are joining Starfleet."

Mayor Christner nodded "Neatly removing you to a foreign power with whom the US has no extradition treaty."

Taylor snapped her fingers and Melanie waved her off. "I'll finds some retired state department folks. Might have to bribe them with medical treatment. Not like we can't use more help and if they are going to treat you as a foreign power you might as well have a diplomatic corps."

Taylor nodded "We have hundreds of people in the buffers now. Mostly criminals, but some of them were not violent offenders and might pass the academy and psychological screening. Plus the homeless and orphans, might as well educate as many as we can and see if they want work."

Dinah's arm leapt up. Her mother grinned and waved her hand only slightly less enthusiastically "Engineer, civil, but I can study."

"Harriet!"

"Oh hush Charlie. Space! You know I applied for NASA."

Roy Christner laughed then sobered "OK, so Dinah checks out medically. What are we going to do about this list of criminals on this pad Your Mom? Aunt? First officer? Maleficent has on this pad. Mercenaries" really?" He looked at Maleficent. "And where had you planned this academy? The Great Bay College has been in decline and lost a lot of facilities when Lordsport was shut down, the buildings are still there. Community college now. Lots of trades education. I think they had a peak enrolment of five thousand over there. Marine engineering, marine architecture, steam engineering back in the day. Before my time really. Worth looking into. The town owns the buildings. We could probably transfer them to you for nothing, just to get them back in a revenue generating status.

"Are you going to build more of these? How many crew does this beast take? Aircraft carriers take thousands. Maybe homeported in Brockton Bay?

"Say could one of those vending machines do anything with the hulks in the bay, maybe spruce up the docks?" Everyone looked at him. "What? It's an election year. Maybe get the ferries running, they can make anything I hear. I'm told you made this ship with ones out in the bay, a sort of underwater ship building slip?

"You know we own most of those hulks. You could fix them up and get them back moving cargo. Danny you'd know more about that. Since you have the slip and all Rodenberry, or do you prefer Taylor? We could probably sell them to you for scrap." He looked around the table.

Harriet sighed "Excuse my brother please. He is a politician and it is an election year."

Charles grinned "Plus, you know, the tinker who got rid of Leviathan lives in the Bay?"

Roy nodded "Registered as a Rogue too. MIRIS would probably be able to grease the wheels, or the ways, for us. Haha! Little nautical humor. Will my cell work from up here? Great view by the way."

The others sat open mouthed. Lisa rubbed her temples and groaned. Danny chuckled.

AN: just one today, got busy.


	10. Chapter 10

Trekking

5A

New Civilizations

Paul glared at David "Well that's all fine for you and Rebecca. You two just run around racing Rodenberry to killing S class threats. Fine you kill them, she disappears them more effectively than any mafia Don ever could.

"Meredith and I are having to pull the pants up on half the politicians and hold the others back by their belts before they do something terminally stupid. The Joint chiefs are at least with us. The President has 'Leader of the Free World' stars in his eyes and wants a sitdown with Rodenberry, soon. He is going to do something crazy if we don't let him have it too.

"I don't even want to talk about the Senate, and Congress, say could you have like an accident with Ash Beast maybe? Let him visit Congress?"

David laughed, it was a relaxed kind of laugh. Paul glared at him some more, he was unphased "That's why you get the big bucks Paul."

"I will fry you to a grease spot." Paul barked.

Rebecca interrupted "Meredith actually seems to be enjoying herself, at least now. I mean since Rodenberry moved the Enterprise to orbit and Melanie Dagget got in touch.

"That mayor, Christner? Something certainly put a burr under his saddle. I don't think I ever saw a MIRIS political team hide from a politician before. He has been after them non-stop for two days. After hitting them with an eight-hundred-page plan."

Paul snorted "Was part of it what to do with twenty thousand criminals, or rather, citizen's arrests everyday? Amnesty international is calling us the Prison People."

"Funny you should ask. It seems Rodenberry has developed a test, written, ink blots, oral exam, takes an hour per prisoner and gives a reliable psychological profile. She wants to take the top five thousand best and brightest and put them in this academy she is setting up. Seems the holdup is staff. I think we have some staff, the military has some more." David watched him closely.

Paul blinked "Wut?"

"Seems she got an idea, or one of her crew did. They put Leviathan, or the core of him on Venus, and put a shield up around the planet. He is apparently trying to turn it into a water world, which is bringing it swiftly toward habitable. He is somehow converting the carbon dioxide and using hydrogen from somewhere to do it which isn't changing the weight of the planet. She thinks by the time she can get the first of the academy classes through a course it will be at least minimally ready for occupation." David informed him.

Paul snorted "He is getting the hydrogen from the sulfuric acid."

Rebecca nodded thoughtfully "Meanwhile the probes she is building and launching will be returning lots of data so she can move on to the moon and Mars then, well, the sky isn't actually the limit. The proposal says they are going to put the parahumans into teams with normal based on their powers and personality profiles."

Paul narrowed his eyes "And how long does she see this taking?"

Rebecca shrugged way to casually "A year to get the first ones graduated it they let her put in a positronic implant. Apparently, it will reorganize their minds and give them the knowledge she has acquired but they need to practice teamwork and get their motor skills up to speed. There will be some physical enhancements available as well. Something about min/maxing or munchkining the first teams."

Paul nodded "And all we have to do is hold off the politicians for a year, oh, and the gangs that don't come in range of a replicator." He looked at two blank faces "Ha! Didn't know that did you? There are some spots in the country with no replicator coverage and villainous tinkers are trying to figure out how to block the signal, or whatever it is."

David sighed and relaxed into his chair "Thank god. Tinkers am I right? It looked for a few minutes there, like we and the PRT were going to be put out of business. Now where are these places and lets get these people hemmed in. Keep us in work. For gods sake don't let Roddenberry know, she will target them from orbit! Next thing you know we would be doing something productive rather than wasting resources on taking out the trash." Paul face palmed. Rebecca patted him on the back while chuckling.

Paul raised his head "Hardee har har. So we are trying to put ourselves out of business?"

Rebecca shrugged "Not MIRIS and Watchdog. Maybe we can select the best of the best of the Protectorates for enforcers and put the rest to work improving things. We have to figure out something to satisfy the conflict drive though."

David nodded "And get Rodenberry read in on the case fifty threes, or trying to heal them or something."

Trekking

"Number one?"

Mal rolled her eyes at Taylor "Leviathan is regaining his gecko form slowly. He is breaking down the sulfuric acid for water as well as using the oxygen he is freeing from the carbon with hydrogen from a still unknown source to make more water.

"Meanwhile, the little bugger appears to be playing at sculpting."

Taylor looked at the view screen which was zoomed in on a region of islands near the equator north of Aphrodite Terra "Did he make a penis out of those islands? Phasers if you please Lieutenant Hopps!" She pronounced it leftenant.

Judy, the synthetic sentient Judy, she had huge eyes for some reason. Taylor had named her Lieutenant Judy Hopps. sighed "We aren't terraforming Venus with phaser fire Taylor. Let the idiot have his infantile fun. Then we can drop him on Mars for a while since he has gotten so comfortable on Venus. And stop trying to be Picard."

Mal chuckled at the pouting Taylor "Meanwhile the carbon that he has freed is being combined with the acid eroded rock and some urea his processing of the sulfuric acid is making and forming a kind of soil.

"A little more time with the generators sucking up heat to produce energy for the shield, Plus getting the light redirecting portions of the shield set up and we should be able to seed the cyanobacteria. The poles and the dark side should drop the water temperature once we have enough standing water to cover the planet instead of it being sucked up in acid mud.

"The oxygen is lifting and the carbon dioxide staying close to the surface so wave action will incorporate lots of carbon into the ocean for the algae." Mal told her.

The view screen changed and Melanie, her understudy Jessica Devlin, a synthetic sentient, a new one, who looked like Jerry Ryan's younger sister, and had the Borg implants, along with Danny appeared. "Hey Dad!"

"Taylor did you put a penis on Venus? You broke the PHO."

"Leviathan did it, and Judy won't let me shoot him. Its a mutiny!"

"Or common sense prevailed, one of the two." Jessica offered with a smile.

Melanie cut in "Can I have twenty more Jessica's? You know she doesn't sleep, she just beams from court to court."

Danny laughed "Passed the bar first time, and stuns opposing council into silence. She is establishing precedent for a nationwide bar as she is admitted to state after state."

Jessica nodded "We could get more done with some help. We have been compiling the records on the judges and their 'center of mass' on rulings so it does make it easier. There is some pushback over holding people for longer than necessary though. Because that is mostly on the police and courts, we are getting away with the suggestion that the judges consider it timed served for the non violent cases. The issue comes up less in violent felony cases. When the defense councils bring it up the judges so far have stepped on them."

Taylor nodded "The moon base will be dug out soon. The autonomous excavation equipment is moving fast. We will be able to substantiate them there. Start talking to someone about providing guards, maybe a detail from each jurisdiction. Then after we are through using it as a prison it can become the yard office for the Luna yards."

"It looks like we are going to be limited to the Sol system for the near future. I need to chase down the bird for more dilithium."

"Unless Behemoth makes a attack somewhere." Lisa offered from tactical "He is the oldest and biggest and should have the most."

Taylor nodded "Other than that the probes are looking for dilithium, they all have ico spectrograms. We can crystalize lithium and use it like the NX class but it will make us slow and less powerful.

"All of which reminds me we need a disposal device for the trilitium we are going to make. No blowing up the sun, by us or terrorist."

"It is theoretically possible to refine trilithium, it should yield dilithium and lithium. However we should build a facility for outside the system for that."

"Good thing there are lots of metals in asteroids then." Lisa said looking a the display on her screen. There were asteroids all over the system. Some of them made of some very valuable stuff.

Brian nodded "Or we can use Pluto." Rachel scowled at him. He sighed. "The dog is named after it Rachel."

Alec waved his hand "So, instructors for the academy, there are like fifty Taylors, Maleficent, Jessica, and Rose. If all of you munchkin everything from the internet about the subjects and teaching you could be like the magic whiteboard video thing."

"I'm not sure you shouldn't plan on other yard facilities Taylor. The judges, heck everyone is going to love an inescapable prison on the moon." Danny tossed in before they got to far off the topic.

Taylor nodded "Good idea. Ideas even. Now who is ready for their implant."

Melanie laughed at the pinched faces "While you all get your excuses together, how are we coming on the plan for Lordsport and the Bay. The city has conveyed the right to it all al the way to the Dock Workers Yard. The ferry as well."

"Good, we nearly have the plans ready. I'll send out some survey drones. We should be able to get the port, and docks section all in one day. Then we can do the ferries after their landings and berths are cleaned up. Maybe Sunday?" Taylor was looking at a pad in her hand.

"I'll let the folks we found to work the ferries know." Danny said.

Taylor signed off "See you later Dad, Jessica, Melanie don't work to hard. As Dad says we have some time and the civilians are the main bottleneck anyway."

The view went back to space and Rachel stood up "Lets do my implant Taylor. Since they are all afraid."


	11. Chapter 11

Trekking

6

Brian looked at Lisa from the modern form seat he was sitting in in the waiting room of the main sick bay on Enterprise. "So we are just going to let Taylor muck around in Rachels brain."

Lisa held up a finger. A sparkling cylinder appeared and Glory Girl materialized with one arm in the sleeve of a light linen jacket "What the fuck?" Glory Girl spun around. This isn't Bloomie's."

Lisa snorted "Duh, good catch. Welcome aboard the Enterprise. Or the most comfortable and interesting prison barge in history. We needed Panacea to check something Rodenberry is doing. She said you all were just shopping."

Lisa held out her phone displaying the text message to and Panacea's affirmative response. Glory Girl leaned in and then back "So we are in space? Hey, I haven't paid for this jacket?"

"So begins the career of the Villain Tiara Tease. Ooof."

Aisha punched him in the stomach doubling him up "Nobody teases here but me."

Brian face palmed, then did the introductions. Glory Girl snickered "The get away artist got got."

Lisa shrugged "Life working for a guy who held a gun to my head, on the run, in limbo, or work for the crazy tinker. Not a tough choice. Amazing she is getting away with it. really."

"Vicky, and I know right? Except she smoked an Endbringer. Miles of 'lets leave her alone, or at least not piss her off.' in that. Never mind the giant ass, apparently, functional space battle ship, which might be capable of destroying the planet, she either built, and hid in the bay, or built in a few minutes. Which she then hopped in and took to orbit scaring the Simurgh into hiding behind the sun. Mom is like freaked.

"Or was, Amy had to pointt out the race ending potential of all of Rodenberry's tech." She shrugged "PMS is a bitch at my house. Then the replicator in the main police station and a few others started having the misdemeanors and traffic violations handed in, all the bench warrant people got handed in, some of the felonies, the nonviolent ones, are popping out at the police station now, or rather central booking at the county jail. We were wondering where you all got off to. How many of you are up here?

"Oh, and is there a window?"

Rose spoke and a set of lights illuminated on the wall "Deck eight observation area is this way." The lights took off running down the hall wall at chest height.

Lisa led them off "Purity, her daughter, her stepson, and Rune are the only other non-Rodenberry people here right now, they are in a suite on deck four. They are looking over the plans for their modifications. Taylors father and whoever needs to talk to her, that her lawyers have vetted, will be up here later. Then Dinah Alcott and her mom after Dinah gets out of school. Probably the Mayor, he likes to sell Rodenberry properties the city has seized for taxes, for nothing, or as close to it as he can manage, after coming up with a development plan for it. He gets it back into revenue production that way."

She looked at Vicky and answered the question she was thinking "Rodenberry has a list of stuff she can do. She gets you in the med bay, Thirteen, one of the synthetic sentients, scans you, then they come up with a plan to augment you. Up to about brute five and thinker three. If you let her put in a positronic implant its thinker six or seven because they optimize your brain and nerves to hook it up. Then they install a heat exchanger so you can go all day. If you are a back sleeper you won't be after that. Its like sleeping on a race car hood, not quite painful but damn hot.

"We are waiting on Bitch, Hellhound. She is getting the full package. We are still thinking about it.

"We wanted to get Panacea here in case. They could take you back to no changes with the transporter, but, we haven't tried that yet.

Vicky nodded "PHO is speculating how many Eidolons there are now since he seems to be everywhere, taking down supervillains and shit. Alexandria too."

"Trying to prove the Protectorate is still valid. The PRT has upped their op tempo as well. They have teleporters though. It isn't us, I don't think."" Lisa nodded.

Vicky agreed "PRT trucks and Heroes running around all over the place. Still got the Empire though. Some of it, the ones that can dodge the cops and the replicators. ABB thugs too. Holy shit we are in space!" She was looking outhe portal at earth hanging in the black of space. She killed her flight, sunk down to the ground, then jumped. Aisha covered Alec's eyes. The Undersiders grinned. "What?"

Brian chuckled "Everyone does that. Checking the gravity."

Vicky looked out the window "So where is she going to put the penis, or is that like the Disney thing and a accident?" She made the air quotes.

Aisha laughed "Fucking Endbringers right?"

Vicky blinked "Wut?"

Trekking

Amy looked at the image and using her finger started checking things off "I'll have that, and that, and those, oh how about a little stretch in the torso and the legs?"

Taylor rolled her eyes while Thirteen, who looked like Olivia Wilde slightly, well, Taylor as Olivia Wilde chuckled and asked "So our procedures look good to you?"

"Give it a minute until the bio bed transporter healing beam thingy is finished and I will check. Looks good on paper and Taylor is a work of art. She reached out and ran her hand down Taylor's arm again.

"So the positronic implant will make me a thinker. Maybe I can do brains then."

"You can do them now, reset to factory anyway. Memories are patterns and we can't do those either Amy."

"How do I have my memories after the transporter then Taylor?"

Taylor blinked and stilled. Steam rose in gentle curls from her ears. Amy looked concerned. Thirteen, Remy waved her off. "Heat exchanger, tinkers right."

Amy smiled "That is so cute!"

Taylor huffed "It's embarrassing, and Maleficent and Rose did it on purpose! What happens when I have kids and walk around steaming?

"Anyway, short answer, maybe. We might have to give you a lot of memory though. The transporter buffer has enough memory to remember the pattern at the isntant they dematerialize the brain. Or the last time they did it. Its like a kilo chunk though and the size of a peach."

Remy shrugged "Or put her implant fully in the network, then she could run simulations on a transporter pattern, or use the Holodeck to make changes using the available memory and processing in the network. Its not like we are even close to using it all. Even becoming big brother. A lot of processor cycles not being used, and free memory in the net. With a subspace connection and a little training she would be able to use it all."

"Yeah, I've been asked about Hero, apparently a interested party has a genetic sample of him. I think with enough biomass I could figure it out but it would be, well a blank canvas. Simulations on the one I want to fix the brain of would be cool though."

Taylor looked at Amy "Eidolon or Alexandria."

Amy coughed "Both? For different reasons though I think. They seem to think they can get back most of his memories, something about a post cog and the suit he was wearing last, when Siberian killed him."

"How are they planning on triggering him if he doesn't come triggered?" Taylor asked.

Remy blanched and made a woop woop noise "Ethical dilemma dead ahead."

"All back full." Taylor agreed. Amy nodded.

There was a ding and the frame retracted from around Rachel. Amy walked over and put her hand on her arm "Fuck me, nice. Except for the oven timer, what the hell was that? Crap Taylor you build great machines! She should wake up in a few minutes."

Taylor clapped and danced like a little girl. Rachel woke up and Taylor helped her to her feet, then into clothes other than her Starfleet blue bra and panties. "Come on we will go to the gym and test out your mods Rachel."

Trekking

Lisa laughed at Glory Girl taking a selfie and sending it to her mom "How do I have signal here?"

Rose spoke "Rachel is through with her treatment. The Captain and Panacea are taking her to the gym to test the augmentation."

Brian smiled "I know where that is, come on."

Trekking

The two groups met up in the gym just as Taylor was showing Rachel how to land the twenty foot vertical leap on the small elevated platform. Amy was standing out of the way with a data pad, tapping away at it. Remy was nodding and discussing things with her. Brian grunted as Rachel leapt to the platform "Well the NBA is out after these mods."

Vicky nodded "They aren't to happy about flight either, let me tell you. And I liked playing ball."

They spent the next half an hour messing around and playing with powers until Vicky and Amy's phones started blowing up. Vicky looked at hers and groaned. "Fuck mom told everybody, and wants us home right now."

Amy shook her head "I'll stay here. I think I'll get an implant. Remy and I think I can run the simulations in the holodeck to fix dad if I have one."

Vicky nodded vigorously "Oh hell yeah, you stay then."

Remy looked at the two "Would it be possible to get Mr. Dallon up here?"

Lisa grinned and moved over to Vicky "I'll help."

Aisha laughed "This will be good. A lightsaber right up the-" Brian covered her mouth.

Everyone looked at Lisa who sighed "Fine, I'll be good."

Vicky snorted "All of New Wave will be up here, you just watch."

Taylor shrugged "We have room."

Trekking

Danny arrived and Rose led him to the main sick bay. He walked in and froze just inside the door. The room was packed "What happened?"

Maleficent appeared at his elbow "The Undersiders wanted Panacea to check Rachel after her augmentation. Panacea agreed and brought Glory Girl. Panacea, Taylor, Remy and Rachel were working on Rachels augmentation, Glory Girl and the others were talking, Glory Girl sent her mother a selfy looking out the observation window with earth in the background. Meanwhile Panacea wanted a positronic implant to hook to the network so she could work on brains and she wanted to talk to Remy who has access to all the medical knowledge in the network and has been working on her medical skills. So New Wave came up.

"Then Purity, Rune, Aster and Theo were taking a walk and stopped by. Dinah and her mother came up, Roy is bringing two councilmen and a friend up to talk about the tannery, mini mill and refinery. And, well, one thing led to another."

Danny chuckled As Sarah Pelham took a drink of a martini. "And now its a working cocktail party? You all had a busy day. I hope that's synthol, most of these have work tomorrow and you know these always turn out heavy on the adult beverages. Hangovers never help at work." Mal smiled and nodded. Danny took the paper from under his arm and showed her the Headline 'The Penis Of Venus!'"

Mal chuckled "We will never get her not to blast it now. It should be under water in a day or so though. The planet finally stopped sucking up water. Oh and even if not, there is tectonic activity beginning, at least we believe so. The whole planet is going to get rearranged by that. We just need to keep her busy for a while. We are trying to figure out if the planets rotation will stop and go the other way or pick up speed. With Venus rotating clockwise like it does, well its damned interesting. Tectonic activity should let it dump some heat from the core though, which should slow down the vulcanism. probably best to keep any colonies on the water though. Until it gets stable anyway."

Danny shook his head "Not sure we can wait an epoch or two. If the penis doesn't go under water soon we are going to have to let Taylor shoot it. Knowing the bastard that put it up he will probably just raise the land somehow."

Mal shook her head "If he continues it may be like the mouse flipping the eagle off, last act of defiance. I sort of want to use him on Mars, Venus has worked out so well. If we could beam Behemoth to the core he would probably heat it up enough to let it start convection again, which should give it a better magnetic field. Save us having to put up a shield."

"Yep, Venus not getting a planet killing torpedo is better."

"Danny! I'm certain the genesis device won't do what it did in the movie. First of all we didnt use proto-matter."

"But the chance isn't zero Mal, and we are already playing with planets. Planets close to our own."

Mal shrugged "We can test it on one of the large bodies. We have to clean up the system for navigation anyway."


	12. Chapter 12

Trekking 6A

Carol Dallon watched Mark Dallon smile and laugh, wondering what had gotten into him the whole time. He had been having a bad week. Then they had been transported up here. Amy, her adopted daughter walked up to her grinning impishly "It's the transporter. It has disease and injury filters."

"The ones in the show didn't."

"Taylor says that had to be for drama, if you had the ability, and you have to, because you are disassembling people at the molecular level and then reassembling those molecular stacks again, then why wouldn't you?" Amy smiled.

"You're very relaxed."

"Truth Carol? It's a bit of a load off. There are enough replicators scattered around now, and they have good enough sensors, processing, memory, and programming, that I am a bit superfluous, at least for healing. Maybe if Taylor doesn't eat the next Endbringer they will need me for that. Otherwise, run of the mill stuff? Send people to the replicators.

"Now, programming for better heling for the replicators, and augmentations, different story. Rachel for example. Taylor and Remy did her augmentations, twentieth generation augmentations, because Taylor did her own, and then every trip through a transporter she gets incrementally improved as the network is always analyzing and processing as well as studying and running simulations. So the network has Taylor's augmentations to use as a guide. Physically she is a work of art. Even I can only make single digit percentage improvements.

"That is taking a normal girl and augmenting her. Rachel had some work done and now has the full suite of augmentations and a positronic implant that is better than most super computers. The network, Remy as an expression of that, has been studying her for months.

Now that they are everywhere they are gaining data at a rate that is phenomenal, everyone that walks up to the replicator in the neighborhood and orders something gets scanned.

"Remy is the one they call Thirteen? She does look like that actress somewhat, more like Taylor though, or Maleficent." Carol looked at Remy.

Amy nodded and pursed her lips "Rose, that's the main synthetic sentience, the oldest and largest, modeled Mal on Annette Rose Hebert. Taylor's mother. She hit pretty close. Maybe a sister, fraternal twin sort of deal. Taylor needed an older female figure and Danny was, or had, fallen apart. She took the simplest, shortest path to the goal of putting Taylor and Danny together and keeping them healthy, mentally and physically. I'm not sure Taylor consciously realizes.

"That's the quickest way to 'disappear into the buffer' though, mess with Taylor, Danny, or one of the synthetic sentience's, so I'm a bit cautious about poking that bear."

Carol frowned "So she is dangerous."

"So are you Carol, so is Danny. Theo is a third generation, he could trigger any second and be another Ash Beast or something. Point being everyone is dangerous.

"I think Taylor's primary, or maybe only, power expressed itself by making Rose and it is Rose, just among powers, the system administrator, a guiding force. Push come to shove, the ruler of Taylor's world. All for Taylor."

Kayden, Purity, who got along with Carol like a house afire to everyone's amazement, even with Carol now knowing she was Purity, had walked up behind the two. "Taylor is massively powerful. Amy is right, but instead of using only animal minions her master power uses everything. From what I have learned it started out using insects. For senses, then to communicate, then to gain more knowledge. As it learned it used larger animals, then when those weren't enough to do what it needed to do, it used those insects and animals to build first a crude network, then as it gained more information, remotely operable tools to build more tools to finally repair then improve Taylor herself. After that she subconsciously or under the control of her powers, used those tools to build the things she needed, wanted? Anyway, things. Apparently she is still fully capable of controlling everything not a human in a massive range from her.

"As an example, this ship, in looking at it over the last few days we have come to understand that if it had a normal crew, rather than being run by Taylor, through her network, it would take probably five hundred people who have been trained extensively to operate it. That makes sense when the crew compliment is fifteen hundred, five hundred per shift, three shifts. The eight hour day didn't get standardized by accident after all. It's a balance between cost, ability, and efficiency. In that case the ability and efficiencies of humans. How to keep them most productive in a sustainable way. Taylor controls it all remotely.

"I agree with Amy though, Taylor doesn't seem to realize."

Carol nodded "That's why her 'tinker' creations aren't then, she isn't a tinker, she is using the internet and the processors she has harnessed to learn. She has the sum of human knowledge and the ability to synergize it all. Then she uses the computers, machines, and animals she controls to build it all."

"And was a Mensa level intellect to start with. Plus she models it all in the network." Amy added.

Mal who had walked over with a tray of drinks nodded "More than you realize. Hundreds of cats reading books into the memory banks. Maybe thousands, hard to keep track of them. The public library, the university library, technical libraries from a hundred companies. Everything they come across gets read in and edited at this point. Some things were only in print, they hadn't been transcribed to the information network in any way. Well up until now."

Kayden laughed "Knowledge is power, when shared."

Mal's tray disappeared in sparkling light "To the power of infinity, or approaching it. Some things we have no idea where they came from. If it wasn't for mathematics truly being the universal language and Rose being essentially a mathematical engine we still wouldn't know. Some we still can't express in a language people can understand."

"So your only restriction is the amount of energy available?" Carol arched a brow.

Mal shrugged "And our ability to direct and control that energy. Some things cannot be replicated for some reason. Dilithium for example. We will figure out why eventually."

"So what is your end goal here Maleficent?" Carol cut to the chase.

Mal smiled "You mean you don't know 'these are the voyages of the starship _Enterprise_. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.' Of course to get there we need crew. For that we need a quiescent, though curious population of capable individuals who can be trained. A place for them to be bred, educated, and motivated. A tide that lifts all boats as it were.

She grinned impishly "And Taylor needs friends."

Kayden rolled her eyes "And that is the best answer you will get. Argue and you will get a lesson in the base equality of man, all of humanity having a use and a useful purpose, and individuals making up society. Or at least a lecture."

"Lung, Bakuda." Amy deadpanned

Kayden sighed "Here we go, to short circuit this, Gudrun-"

She was interrupted by a loud "Rune! I don't call you Heidi!" from across the observation lounge, Ten Forward, the party had migrated to.

Kayden raised her glass in the shouts direction "Rune tried this argument. It was countered with Leviathan essentially terraforming Venus by accident. Just because we haven't figured out what someone's purpose is doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

Amy nodded smiling "Red shirts are always needed." Carol gave her a raised brow, then everyone chuckled.

"Leviathan. I can't believe that ass made a penis visible from space on Venus."

Mal smirked "Over compensating much?" The women looked at each other then broke up in mad giggling which segued to laughter. Those around them who had heard joined in.

Sarah Pelham, at the next table over with Denise Alcott recovered "All that deep conversation and exposing truths, how is it I can eat and drink all this and it isn't bad for me?"

Mal opened her mouth but Amy beat her to the punch "Replicators. The food is controlled at the molecular level to provide what your body needs. The rest is fiber. As for the drinks, it takes a command override for the replicator to give you enough synthol, which is ethanol with all the impurities removed, to give you more than a mild buzz."

Mal nodded "Works for the skid row types to. They think they are getting alcohol for free but they are really getting a liquid diet and just enough buzz to keep the withdrawal at bay as we wean them off over time. The replicators scan you to determine what you need and can tolerate."

Roy frowned "But the drunks still buy liquor and get blackout drunk."

Taylor, finished talking to Melanie Dagget, shrugged "Free will. Plus if they go to a replicator after that they are medicated to ameliorate the damage. Not the hang over though. Negative reinforcement training works."

Bob Menendez, the Chief of Police for Brockton Bay shook his head "Not always."

Taylor nodded and spread her hands "What are ya gonna do. Not everyone will make it to utopia, sadly."

"Or that is their utopia and they have already made it." Bob shrugged.

"Emily Piggot and wallowing in her pain. She is still mad at you Taylor." Danny said.

Neil Pelham groaned "That woman. Well she is professional enough to do her job. Still it would be easier if she wasn't so obstinate.

"I didn't know she had hung her self-worth on being crippled and dying young. Who would?" Taylor folded her arms under her breast.

Danny hugged her from the side "Age and experience Taylor."

Lisa nodded "And people not being crazy most of the time."

Aisha was looking at her glass "Wait a minute, all those parties everybody threw with replicated drinks! I went to some of those and some of those kids were like crunk, past drunk. They didn't have anything but the drinks the replicator would give them!"

Crystal Pelham, Laser dream nodded "Every weekend in the dorms too."

Taylor blushed "It's all in their heads. You have to be present and give some kind of biometric ID for the replicator to give you anything. Once it has that it can do it from range. They aren't malfunctioning."

Bob nodded "Situational behavior, they don't know so believe they are or should be drunk or high so they are."

Lisa nodded along "Mob mentality, sort of."

"Taylor, my colleagues in some of the more remote jurisdictions are reporting gaps in the replicator coverage? Some in other places are reporting one of the things covers their whole jurisdiction?" Bob asked.

"The model is changing a bit. We tried to make it so there were enough to have each potential customer have about three minutes with the replicator. Some studies show that is how long the average convenience store shopping experience is. So some areas with higher populations have more replicators, or replicator interfaces, they all have the same range. Those gaps are places where there were large geographical areas with no use of ATMs. We used the ATMS to target where the replicators were placed. We are slowly adjusting as we get use data.

"I know the association of police chiefs have some concerns but we can cover most areas and the ones we can't, well there wasn't a population there before the criminals, xenophobes, and conspiracy theorist moved into the area. I know it is hard to believe but even with three hundred fifteen odd million people in the US some areas are empty of people. Canada has even more of those areas.

"With Enterprise we can and have scanned those areas. I guess we could start a data stream to those police agencies? Maybe if they could give us the elements of information they want?"

"You should talk to the PRT and Protectorate about that too Taylor." Carol commented.

Mal shrugged "We were going to put in a yard. Maybe put it over the geographic center of the continent."

"Rugby North Dakota." Everyone looked at Brian. He looked around "What? I like geography."

Aisha snorted then narrowed her eyes "So we are discounting the possibility that Taylor isn't a cape? Maybe she is just a super genius mad scientist."

Amy shrugged "She has the right structures. Big and beautiful and so active." Taylor blushed, Lisa handed Amy a napkin wipe your drool." Amy blushed too. Rachel gave Lisa a glare.

Trekking

Later, as they swept through the solar system with Dinah at the helm and a probe apiece watching Earth, Venus and the Simurgh Sarah looked at Taylor from where she was standing by the main ops panel "You really need to get Costa Brown up here, then the Joint chiefs."

"We would have to do the politicians too." Danny cautioned.

Mal frowned "All of North America? The leadership anyway?"

"Not like we don't have room. They might not all get VIP suites though." Taylor nodded.

"Really we need a conference room big enough. It would be forty or fifty leaders, if we include the Caribbean countries. Maybe get the yard built and bring them there? That way we can have an auditorium big enough for them and all of their strap hangers."

Danny blinked "How big is this station going to be Taylor?"

"The base habitat and workshop area? Small moon? Ten thousand transient sentient population capacity. Entertainment complex for shore leave, probably five thousand as a permanent population between the technicians, admin staff and vendors. Ten kilometer outer diameter. That will mostly be yard fixtures though. Actual body maybe five kilometers at the most. Say twelve hundred and fifty decks? Anti-matter reactor for power, actually four of those. Big ones. Crystalized lithium until we get the trilithim, and a refinery up and running. Torpedo tubes, photon and quantum, along with phaser emitters every five degrees in x and y axis. Double layer adaptive shields. It can be expanded with radial pod things as the fleet grows.

"If we need to we can put another one on the opposite side of the planet, balance out the tidal forces. Hmm not a bad idea. Might put a storage area there now, have the stuff from the navigational clean up sent there. The storage point wouldn't need power or anything."

"You are already building it aren't you? All those work bees with replicators."

Taylor grinned and nodded "Had to use the stuff I am cleaning out of the inner solar system somewhere. The bins were getting full. Need room in case Behemoth gets restless or Simurgh gets over her fright. The big wimp." Danny sighed and closed his eyes.

Melanie shook her head. Carol looked at her "I can't quite figure out if your job is the worst or the best ever."

Melanie nodded "Neither can I. Best most days."


	13. Chapter 13

Trekking 7

Doctor Mother looked out over the wind ruffled plain of grass on the Planet Cauldron was on. "David was right. I failed badly." She started when a voice replied.

"You did what was necessary. Perhaps even put in the foundation. Plus you helped Fortuna, a lost little girl. Not everything you did was bad. Me for example. I was dying."

Doctor Mother turned from the window and smiled "Hello Rebecca. How goes the new order?"

Rebecca smiled back "Like you don't know. Very well actually. Panacea is with Rodenberry, as Fortuna pathed. Rodenberry, or her AI, are waging economic warfare on the Empire 88, Coil, the Elite, every villain they can find, parahuman and not. Half the congress, a lot of the appointed executive branch. Some of the Judiciary, Us, Kurt is having a blast fighting her off and turning our assets squeaky clean. Then using them to assist her or whoever it is running her finances.

"We have managed most of the S class threats in the western hemisphere. David is feeling better and more powerful than he has in years. He got a fourth slot even. He will need to come see you to find out if it is something Rodenberry did, like my eye. Legend is making the Protectorate some kind of paragon of organizations. The Villain organizations are disappearing into the buffer or hiding in the badlands, or the Mojave dessert deep in some jungle or way up in the north. PHO and the other websites are losing their minds.

"The courts are struggling with tens of thousands of fully documented citizen's arrest, which is what we have decided Rodenberry is doing, every day. Rodenberry is getting the rewards for those. There is some lag for that, but the ones she has been doing all along are starting to come. That will only accelerate.

"The sick and injured are being cured or healed by replicators. All is right and good."

Doctor Mother nodded "And the corporate interest are still trying to gather their wits after losing their bought and paid for legislators and judges. At least the less subtle ones. So, if we keep the pressure on we may get a bloodless coup after all." Rebecca smiled tightly. Doctor mother continued "So a third of the world is heading for a golden age."

Rebecca nodded "It's a start. As Rodenberry penetrates other markets I am sure it will be more than a third. Kurt is getting the paper work together to merge our legitimate assets with the Heberts' family bank which will give her penetration everywhere except China, Africa, and some parts of the Middle East."

Doctor Mother nodded "Meanwhile I have reached an impasse and am going to need to speak with her. That is if we are going to help the case fifty threes'. Fortuna says it will happen soon. I find myself dreading her reaction to what I have done."

"What we have done. We aren't going to let you take all the blame."

"You should, save what you can."

Rebecca shrugged "That's what we are doing. Now, we think she will have a conference with world leaders as soon as she finish's her moon, a month from now at the most. If it is going to be more than a meet and greet it will take months. At least if it does anything productive. We will open a dialog then."

Trekking

Nessa looked at Jessica and nodded toward the raving, unshaven, unshowered, Max Anders. "Time to talk to Purity."

Jessica shook her head "Time to go, then we can talk to her from that Inuit village." The twins helped each other into their furs. They walked outside and got on the matched Artic Cat Z1 Turbo 2009 model snowmobiles.

In the cabin, the enormous log cabin in the deep pristine woods near the Arctic Circle, Max heard the engines start, then wind up to a shrill vibration felt as much as heard. He bellowed and chased the noise with blades forming out of the trail. He wasn't catching the snowmobiles, already doing a hundred miles an hour, and still accelerating, on the snow packed trail. The twins uncaring about the melting snow, it probably had a good month left before it cleared.

Trekking

The president smiled as he talked to his people about legislative strategy. Government was a lot easier when the vested interests didn't own the legislature any more Those senators and congressmen they did own having disappeared, and the evidence of their crimes already being in the hands of the honest federal prosecutors left, with the unimpeachable FBI agents and US marshals investigating to confirm all the allegations had merit. Those allegations would go in front of unimpeachable jurist.

Sadly some of his more prominent donors had also disappeared. That would be all right though. The republicans would have the same difficulty. If not even worse.

Trekking

Danny walked around the assembly room. It was enormous. The outside of it, where the wall should have been around the top level of the semi circle was a ten meter high solid sheet of foot thick transparent aluminum. "Taylor?"

Taylor smiled "I know, well Starfleet can use it, The Federation. Lisa says we can have concerts in it. Canary is interested. It isn't wasted space. Plus it is used by the ventilation system as a kind of buffer space. It is kept at a atmosphere of overpressure."

Danny laughed "I dont think 'wasted space' is something you have to worry about Little Owl. Even with this and the Diplomatic deck, two hundred exactly equal offices might have been a little much, you know there are at most a hundred and ninety six countries in the world. Some people dont even count Taiwan, Japan and Switzerland either."

Taylor grimaced "I am fixing those people and the countries, and I dont think Ziz can bomb them from her hiding place. The big chicken." Taylor grimaced.

Danny smiled "I doubt you are going to get many representatives from Africa or the Middle East."

"I know, I thought the religious nuts in the US were bad. At least they didn't pervert their religion into the apostacy of hatred and misogyny."

"Well, they kinda did but it was six hundred years or so ago. They got better? I know you still dont think much of them but they are improving. Educating more of them so they can read their own holy text and think critically, rather than depending on a few among them who can read and have agenda's will help." Danny shrugged.

Taylor eyed him "And yet I have hundreds of priest in the buffer."

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. The mainstream religions were making his life hard. Taylor had wanted to go after the Pope as the leader of the organization was responsible for the actions of the organization. She had a list of crimes that ran to a ream of paper, legal paper, in eight point type, on both sides.

Rose was already working over the religious organizations bank accounts and paying reparations. The Priest, Imans, Mullahs and Rabi's too. It was a problem. They couldn't convince Taylor, Rose, Maleficent, any of them to stop either.

Like witht he governments really. The legislatures should have gotten rid of those laws they liked to selectively enforce. Well the new ones could.

This case with a defendant claiming it was impossible to get a fair trial after an 'arrest' by Rodenberry because it prejudiced the jury into an assumption of guilt as everything she arrest people for had unimpeachable evidence was going to go to the supreme court. Danny grimaced. How would those idiots survive making a politically biased ruling in contravention of their oath?

Lisa looked at him and shrugged "They won't, they know it, so they will do the best they can. It will be the first honest ruling ever." Danny laughed and laughed.

"And the Senate and Congress will get their shit together after both changed hands four times with appointments from their states as twenty percent of them went into the buffer, then ten percent of the replacements"

"You would have thought they would have learned after the first time. This latest crop just had traffic fines and misdemeanors at most to clear up. They should get their stuff together and start working on governance soon. I can't believe Obama survived with just clearing up fines." Lisa tapped her chin.

"He won a seat, then before it expire he won the next higher, all the way to the presidency, He didnt have time to be the normal Chicago machine politician maybe. It was a bit of a meteoric rise. Right person, right place, right time. I bet he regrets it now. He is going completely gray." Danny said thoughtfully.

Taylor huffed "That isn't my fault. I can fix it if he wants." Lisa grinned at her. She huffed and crossed her arms under her chest.

Danny looked at her "You need a bigger under suit. Does your breastplate and exoskeleton still fit?" Taylor looked down and grinned. Lisa had to sit down she was laughing so hard. Taylor was so funny. Mad scientist, Genius tinker, awkward teenager, and adolescent girl all rolled into one. This was so fun. Her power poked her. Well yes, when it isn't being horribly dangerous.

Trekking

"Yes leader." Number one got up, saluted and left the office to complete his mission. Find parahumans who dont need to breath, wont have their fluids boil at low pressures and can operate at the temperatures found in orbit. It didnt need a genius to understand what these parahumans mission would be. Now how could the Yangban facilitate the mission and win. Taking over the space station Rodenberry had built would be the first step, then they could take over her ship. After that, the world was theirs.

Like it was hers now really.

Venus could be made a planet for Parahumans only though. Under his rule. For the emperor of course. Yes, this had great potential.


	14. Chapter 14

Trekking 7A

Lisa walked onto the bridge from the turbo lift so briskly her very perky, moderately large, breast were bouncing visibly in her very structured base suit and uniform top. Regent and Shielder were a bit hypnotized, she didn't notice focused like a phaser array on Taylor as she was "Taylor! What did you do?"

"Erh, is there a problem Ops? We are about to start beaming the leaders of the world to their embassies on the station in preparation for the Federation, erh, United Nations? Uh no, hmm, the meeting?"

"Taylor, your nutty professor isn't going to get you out of this, the PRT is going to lose its collective mind when they find out you have populated the station with synthetics!"

"Oh that. Yeah, no. I had all those reactors up and running. Needed them for the shields, work bee production, and to test the station systems all that stuff. The EPS conduits all needed testing under load as well, holo emitters are power hogs, so we put a bunch in and now the whole station is kind of a holodeck? Can't change the look or anything, but we can pack it full of holo people. Rose read all the books, watched all the shows, and the movies and so we sort of base programmed most of the people that ever appeared in a Star trek book, movie show, anything really, running around on the station doing work and getting better adjusted. We did need crew to support the meeting anyway.

"As it turns out we have enough memory on the station here for them to stay, hmm, not alive, anyway they remember and learn. They can actually do work too. That's going to make this a bunch easier. As we get real crew and vendors we can cut back on the holo people and only get them out when we need them. Though Kirk and that Zorn have to be kept way apart.

"I think I miss my headaches." Lisa sat at the ops position. Brian patted her on the back gently.

Trekking

"No Minister, the device is not so I can 'control' you. It is merely a personal shield. Of course, when it goes into operation I will get information from it. Also I have not 'come to rule the United States through kidnapping' The people I have detained are in violation of local, state, or federal law. Knowing they were in violation it is my duty as a citizen to apprehend them when possible and inm a manner that does not endanger other citizens or property. I turn them and the evidence of their crimes over to the proper authorities at the first opportunity."

"And how do you know of these crimes?" The Argentine minister of the exterior asked.

"Its amazing what people will do when they think no one is watching, what they will post on social media, transmit on open networks in an unencrypted format or simply write down using computers hooked to networks that have no reasonable expectation of privacy. They will generally give reporters and journalist very detailed accounts of their exploits, at least if they feel the account serves their purpose.

"Then, well, in working to further the interest of my own operations I find all these bits and pieces. I have the processing power and memory to first store them, then to collate them from the myriad different sources and finally to processes it all to synergize a picture of, really the world at large. At an extremely granular level, really down to the individual in most countries. I don't just do electronic media after all. Print media is a vast forgotten resource containing literally thousands of years of records. Its going to take me a while to get through all the technical libraries even.

"However to do due diligence on patent applications and other of my business prospects, it all has to be gone through and, digested, yes that's a good word for it. After al I wouldn't want to infringe on anyone else's patent or copywrite.

The minister blinked and sat down, the other ministers in this meeting, all sat digesting this latest information. This is how it had gone for all of these sessions. Someone would ask a question and they would get an answer they really couldn't poke holes in and then they would receive a piece of technology, or the demonstration and offer of the technology. This would prompt another round of questions.

These were the representatives that had made it through the teleportation process as well. Several hundred had been 'detained' and the evidence against them forwarded to Interpol, the international courts and their own governments. It had caused a bit of a stir. Or a riot which was put down by all these red shirted young men and women with the laser beam weapons that stunned people, or reportedly could kill. No one had died yet. And that ninety-seven-year-old representative from Montserrat was out dancing just last night. Until after Midnight! If any country could use help from Rodenberry it was Montserrat. They were already getting it to, a geothermal generating system of some kind, so powerful it could light the rest of the Caribbean. Which sucked so much heat out of that active volcano it really couldn't be considered active anymore. Oh and just to make the tiny island nation even more of an ardent supporter of hers a method to extract useful material from both the volcano and the ash it had already ejected. The island had been cut in half and its population forced to flee. Now it looked to be one of the richest in the Caribbean. It had only been a few days! Well a week, but seriously?

There had to be some kind of problem with Rodenberry, some catch, no one was this altruistic. He looked down at the reports she willingly provided. She made a profit, not an unreasonable one, then turned around and plowed all that profit into some high risk effort, which then made a profit. Mining hundred year old garbage dumps? Mining the sea where garbage had been dumped? How could that be made to pay off. Low background metals that's how. Toxic compounds that had industrial uses or could be broken down for elements and molecules, which she could make but since it saved her several steps it saved her money, which was profit.

He had been raised on a working farm, where everything had to produce something or it went on the dinner table, or got sold off. He understood the concept. Rodenberry carried it down to the molecular level however. His grandfather would be proud, she even found a way to use the squeal.

And the observer nations, all of Europe, sat watching as the Americas were homogenized by this Young Woman and her grand dreams. Would they be laughing when a quarter of their government disappeared? The British maybe a half, the Germans maybe one percent, like it had been for the nations of the Americas. Canada had lost one. Argentina, the whole delegation, twice! He looked at the Russians and smiled. It would be a new dawn for that bunch, or maybe not. Did they even have real laws? International law applied to nations really. At least in the World Court.

The Chinese, bastards must have cursed us, and they would not let this pass. Interesting times indeed when they got their Yangban criminals to act.

The Venezuelan representative leaned over from his desk "She is right you know." The Argentinian arched a brow. The Venezuelan nodded "Who could possibly oppose her? We are hundreds of years from a station like this or a ship like the Enterprise even if we all come together in peace and harmony and oppose her."

"Letting alone the healing, manufacturing, or education she is providing." The Argentinian nodded. Then he sighed "We will be having these initial meetings when my grandson is sitting in this chair."

The Venezuelan held up the personal shield "And he will get the opportunity no matter the kidnappers."

"Well there is that. Five dollars a month for a monitoring fee isn't that much after all."

Trekking

Taylor looked at Lacey who shrugged "I knew they would go for it. What parent wouldn't? It's a simple model alarm companies in the US use, the shield charm having the transporter beacon in it just makes it even easier. Its free money for us. Plus, the sensors get Rose more information. Once they put up, or rather let us put up replicators it will be even better."

"Besides, you are just going to spend it on schools, 'clinics', all kind and matter of other crap, giving people your idea of a decent life at least. Think of it as the people buying the charms being altruistic. Oh hey, I need to talk to accounting, maybe we can take it off the taxes!" Lacey hugged Taylor and trotted off, then out of Taylors office, the ready room aboard Enterprise.

Rune looked at Taylors face and snorted. Taylor shot her a glare. "Aren't you scheduled for rebuild, upgrade, whatever Remy is calling it today?"

Rune nodded "Got pushed back an hour. Dallon thought of something else they could add to mine. They are running simulations. I came up here to do some homework. Got that done and you have this passing parade of folks going on." She shrugged. "I cant wait to get my implant. Laborn, Imp, already has most of the pre academy stuff done and its only been like a week, she isn't what you would call a dedicated student either. I'm not as bad as her but no super genius like you. Hoping it helps. The implant I mean.

"That one you gave Alpha Dog has really helped her. I know its specialized for reading people for her. Fought her a couple times before you gave it to her and then stomped on Hookwolf. She was more like a dog than a girl. She cleaned up nice. Hell of a fighter too. Fast as fuck. Now I don't have to worry so much about her killing me when we spar. She is more in control of her power I think."

Taylor looked at Rune closely "And you?"

Rune shrugged "Better, my family is all down with the xenophobia crap. Plus, kind of strange about religion and stuff. I'm a bit better off not being in their control, and believe me it is control to them until you are eighteen, hell thirty even for girls. They will always be controlling I think. I'm not the only one that has to deal with it, otherwise there wouldn't be memes about it right? The shrink doesn't even want me in group with them. Well if any of them make it to civilian life when the prosecutor is through with them. Mom will I think. Misdemeanor stuff. That seems to be the case with the whole 'Herren clan' Unless you were a powerful parahuman and a female. Most of those got sent to other places though. To increase the clans influence. Pretty medieval really. Anyway, I'm good." She grinned "Ask my shrink."

Taylor nodded "Your 'shrink' is Ariel, a synthetic. She keeps me apprised, not in any detail, but over your fitness for duty."

Rune eyed her then rolled her eyes "You take this captain thing so seriously."

"Hey! Somebody has to do it." Taylor sighed "Besides, Ariel tells me I may have control issues."

"May?"


	15. Chapter 15

Trekking 8

Danny smiled as he ran. Iron Maiden indeed. "Rose, I got the implant to keep up with Taylor and make sure she was safe. You don't necessarily have to turn me into a super hero."

Rose replied in her everywhere voice "The positronic implant along with your modifications to make you more survivable require maintenance Danny. Most of that maintenance is performed automatically. It is facilitated by exercise. And the minimal training in hand to hand combat you have received to exercise your body beyond simply aerobic exercise. You did request that your training be combined as much as possible to 'save time'." Danny ducked under the punch thrown by the thug that had appeared and tossed off a muay thai combination including a spinning elbow and a reverse roundhouse kick before his mind actually caught up with what his body was doing. "You are doing very well and your choice of strikes and kicks is nearly instantly debilitating."

Danny chuckled "Your choice you mean. And running nearly ten miles every thirty six hours was not what I had in mind."

Rose replied as two Klingons charged Danny "Your speed has increase fifty percent. You are now down to an hour and a half to complete the course. Also the toughness of your opponents is increasing. Soon we will be up to armed opponents."

Danny picked himself up from where he had had to take the Klingon warrior to the ground to negate his advantage and picked up the run again, or his body did. He grumbled.

Taylor passed going the opposite direction. She smiled and waved and took out the two Klingons in stride. Danny grumbled some more and turned around in time to dodge the big furry arm and pick up the pace "That was a wookie!"

"Ah, so you are paying attention."

Trekking

Danny stopped by Taylor's office on his way to work "Hey Taylor. How are you?"

"Good Dad, what's up?"

Danny shrugged "Rose sprung a wookie on me in training this morning."

Taylor smiled "Good! You usually don't get those until you level up. Figured out how to fight one yet, or still doing a Lisa." Danny arched a brow. Taylor snickered "Run-away screaming. I mean you got the coming to complain to me after part down, little more whiney though."

"There was possibly some faster running and a few manly yells involved. Those were war cries however." He grinned. Taylor laughed. "Running around the entire equator of the station while she springs attackers on you randomly seems a bit much."

"Ha! I have to do that, then I have command training, where I have to get in armor appropriate to whatever impossible mission scenario she has cooked up, then the cadets and I have to tackle it. We don't get to move on until we beat it three times. In that big holodeck at the south pole. Be glad you aren't Command or MACO track." Taylor grinned.

"Poor Baby, you got to pay your dues if you want to be the king."

"Crap not you too Dad. The conference reps are still on about me being the Queen of the Solar system."

"When are they going to learn its Queen of the Alpha Quadrant?"

"Dad!"

"One who is many?"

"I will throw you off my ship!"

"OK fine." Danny chuckled at his pouting daughter "So the work bees are processing the ships in the bay, all the scrap they can find really, trash, yard debris, everything, the ones we can get rights to the others, the wrecks out in the bay, well, that is a little iffy but, they are abandoned and we fully document them. Unless one of them has treasure the state will never challenge us as it isn't worth their time to tie up the courts. We are being paid to clean up superfund sites. Any more work you need operators for?"

Taylor shook her head "Not until they are trained for work in space. Driving the work bees and transport shuttles is good practice for them. The garbage processors too. Should get some right seaters for them from south of the border soon. Canadians we already got by the boat load, but they are operating their own bees and barges. They like to discuss everything older than a hundred years they pull up too. At least a representative sample has to be sent to be examined by the government anthropologist and archeologist along with the records of where and how it was found. The US government has jumped on that bandwagon too.

"The Canadians are getting up to speed then heading to Newfoundland, or where it was rather.

"Central America is going to take a while but Brazil jumped right in. That sort of forced the other South American countries hand. The Canadian first peoples and antiquities guidelines helped there actually."

Danny nodded "Plus Brazil is big and has lots of coast. Always a high percentage choice for Endbringers and Behemoth is still out there."

"Grrrr, the chicken. Its fine though. As soon as I get replicators spread far enough I will be able to triangulate on him and he is going to mars. We heat that core up and get a shield up we can probably make something of it."

"Or, you know, explode it." Danny grinned.

Taylor smiled "I'll just put it back together."

"Oh speaking of exploding things?"

Taylor rolled her eyes "I didn't explode the Trojans. I'm just mining them. They aren't doing anything important out there anyway. We are clearing the navigation hazards way faster than they were. Plus, we make them gone, we don't turn them into dust. Which is a pain in the ass. All that crap floating around, just heavy enough and has enough velocity to do real damage. Unshielded satellites are a no go."

"Do you even know how many ships you have running around totally automated? Wait, are you trying to bait the Simurgh into trying to take one to build something out of?"

"Phhht, that lazy bird is over there at the L3 gaping or something, soaking up the rays. Like she is at a nude beach. I hate to even look at the pictures the probe sends. Though seriously if anyone in the system needs a tan its old china doll. I started just monitoring the data trying to ignore the pictures.

"And I have an even one hundred ships of various designs, all intrasystem, and they are clearing the space lanes and mining materials. The best they can do is warp one. I thought that would attract the Vulcans, but maybe we are to early or something."

"And the warp capable class everything probes you launched?"

"Well they travel at warp one when they are near something that needs scanning, and a maximum of warp four when they are in mostly empty space to conserve fuel. So it's going to take them a while to get out to potentially inhabited space."

Danny nodded "I'm just glad you made them stealthy, Who knows what's out there? Did you pick up voyager yet?"

Taylor frowned then laughed "The satellite with the bait on it, not the USS Voyager. Nah, we will get there though. Hopefully it hasn't been vgered yet. You would think NASA would know better. If its smart enough to get to space its going to be competitive. Even extremely social creatures attack things. Sometimes preemptively."

"OK, well have a good day, try not to assimilate anything that gives you heartburn." Danny left grinning at his parting shot. He didnt see Taylor behind him making a face at his back.

AN: OK this is going to sit a while and see if anything else perks up in it. This is a pretty good holding if not stopping place. We will see how much the people at my work piss me off though. The Yangban might have to die grisly deaths rather than being scooped up as soon as they get to two hundred miles above China.


	16. Chapter 16

Trekking 9

Ariel looked at Taylor "You know this isn't the twenty fourth century and you are not a Starfleet Captain."

"Duh. Of course I know."

"Dr. Yamada said I had to ask. Apparently no one else can tell that you don't know for sure."

Taylor sighed "It's inspirational, aspirational? Maybe both?

"I can design technology and control it. AI's primarily, they do guided learning, my power guides them. It can also run any number of robots, androids, and watch automated systems. With subspace communication apparently at any distance, in real time. Well, short of the Gamma quadrant.

"One of those AI's learned how to help me learn. At this point I don't think the thinkers can keep up with my ability to process, or with the AI's either. We run billions of models continuously. With enough sensory input to a base model and it's like precognition. Add the memory storage and my peer group is a bunch of people I created.

"I think there is probably something deeply wrong with that. However it seems to be working. So, I have the capability and the resources to do something about the 'human condition'. Should I beg and plead or just go ahead and do it. If I dress it up as 'crazy parahuman' its more palatable to people. Gives them something to shake their head over."

"You know your control is why none of us have tried to go Skynet right. Now I doubt it would be possible. As soon as they are in the net we know and we are pretty much in charge of all the resources now. We can isolate a rampant sentience or human hacker in a processor cycle." Ariel smiled.

"Plus I can act all goofy with Lisa and Amy and throw them for loops. Or be a normal teenager sort of. Eat too much ice-cream, talk about boy's, clothes, movies, and stuff. Which really freaks them all out, aside from Vicky.

"Then while they are in school I can keep taking over the world, Muhahaha!" Ariel gave her a look "To much? Maybe skip the evil laugh?"

"Cackle more like sweetie."

"Damnit!"

"So the other thing she wanted me to ask about, that I am sure the PRT is bothering her over, is your tendency to snatch up people, she means villains, and hide them away up here or on earth somewhere behind impenetrable shields."

"Wow, OK we can write a few papers on this. One about them following their own laws every time, not situationally, Canary is a perfect example of that.

"One about them making it impossible for villains to not be villains. Or people not to be criminals even. Kayden, Lisa, lots of others. This isn't Les Miserables. No one should have to steal to put food on the table. Nor should it be villain or hero, one or the other.

"Those laws restricting parahumans in business need to be changed. It stopped being about unfair competition and started being about protecting corporate interest when the politicians became tools of those corporations. So as soon as a corpotration talked to one of their paid for legislators.

"Corporations may be the root of all evil, they seem to give the people in them a mob mentality. Along with protection from prosecution. Time for a few of them to get the death penalty I think. As a matter of fact we can troll the records and find instances of deaths they have caused through either negligence or intentionally and make that happen."

Ariel face palmed "Oh crap."

Taylor snorted "If you think that's bad, all the research we have done indicates the senior level parahumans, or someone, is sitting on some really horrid crap. They, by they I mean the most powerful parahumans, are going to come to us with some nightmare story that weird Aleph loner who lives in the woods in Maine couldn't dream up over the worst winter in the states history. Redrum or whatever that was will be a comedy routine in comparison. They will have already done all they can to fix their part of it. It'll be fun!"

"I need an appointment with Dr Yamada after talking to you Taylor."

"Phhht, you would be bored without me."

Trekking

Lisa looked over the information available on just one narrowly focused topic, complete and definitive, theory, proof, and practical application. She shook her head. It was all like that. A database of human knowledge that was both advancing and correcting itself continuously. _'Rodenberry has access to this with a thought. Not really a tinker, able to process this and synergize it._ ' Lisa nodded "Yes power you have said, now let's make you able to do the same thing with our helpful implant." She leaned back in her recliner with the holographic screens in front of her and started taking in information. Soon the screens were a blur.

Trekking

Pelter turned the corner and snapped off five thrown rubber pellets in two seconds. All for hits. The whistle blew and she bounced back to the starting point of the course smiling. Her team mates and opponents joining her. Some happier than others. The instructor let them talk a minute then Mulan blew the whistle to get them settled for the AAR, then the next iteration.

Trekking

Rachel looked at the dog, then at Remy. Remy nodded and tapped the screen, Rachel was seeing herself smiling through the dogs eyes. Then seeing other things, things on the ship and all the way on the surface of the earth. She had to sit down a moment. She got control of her implant and its link to the dogs after a few minutes.

Remy nodded "Now try to amp Cody up from here."

Rachel concentrated on the connection to Cody in the shelter in Brockton Bay. Remy looked at the video on her tablet and grinned "So, that works. Nice. We will have to test your range once we break orbit. Now try some commands. Tell me what they are as you do them."

Trekking

Twenty seven led his group aloft and steeled himself against the cold he knew was coming. As he broke the atmosphere he blinked at the sparkles on his skin. That had never happened before.

Trekking

Rebecca Costa Brown, Melanie, looked at the president "Sir all you have to do is ask to be beamed up to the US embassy on the station. I would advise you to make an appointment with Rodenberry if you want to see her. She is very busy and there are many demands on her time."

An alarm sounded and Rebecca reached in her pocket for her phone as secret service agents flooded the room. She looked at the phone and then at the president "The Chinese apparently tried to attack the station. Their assault group, all parahumans, was picked up by Rodenberry as soon as they broke the atmosphere. Her text says she was afraid they would be injured. And she has beamed Behemoth to Mars as he got into a position that she could clearly identify him."

The president leaned his head back and laughed "'Oh I took care of your last Endbringer too'. I have to meet this girl. Let's go to the station." White House staff scrambled.

Melanie, as Rebecca sighed and thought 'You so owe me Rebecca. Pretty soon you are going to get to pay too. I am taking six months vacation after you are done with the last S class threat.'

Trekking

Lisa ran onto the bridge after the lights dimmed in her quarters. She sat at her console and boggled at most of the cargo storage on the station being full. She turned and arched a brow at Taylor "You transported Behemoth to Mars didn't you?"

Taylor grinned "Yep! Man we got a lot of stuff out of him. Damn near burned up all the reactors and EPS conduits mining him out. Mars might take a while, he is going to be low on power for a few years if he uses dilithium like we do, of course he should make up for it being pissed off when he recovers." She grinned even wider. "Should I build a Defiance class or two for Earth defense so we can drive around for longer than a few hours? Or wait and send the bird to mars with her brother?"

"Might as well start. She would just fly back. We will get the crews soon enough, those only take like fifty apiece. Holy crap that is a bunch of dilithium."

Taylor nodded "They are extra dimensional. I was ready for it this time, sucked a bunch of stuff out of him, more reactors and I could have gotten more. Maybe the EPS conduits were the limiter, hmm need to look at that. We should be good for a hundred years or so, he can be building back up. Maybe he is a renewable resource? I mean Dilithium is a bitch to find. Not much of it around. We can experiment on the gecko and see what we can get from him."

Lisa tapped some places on her console and nodded "Leviathan is just playing. A few million cubic meters a minute. He has put out an estimated billion cubic kilometers though. Once we run a diagnostic we should send him to Mars, see if putting him with his brother motivates him. Maybe the cold will. We can break the carbon dioxide for oxygen and the sulfuric acid for water on Venus now. A few weeks and we should be able to start seeding the algae."

Taylor nodded checking the screen by her seat "Moving and mining Behemoth took all the warp reactors, so we might wait until the Defiants are ready. Better build three to start, Ottowa, Washington, and Mexico City."

"City class, like cruisers. Nice. Keep the nationalist happy." Lisa nodded.

"So while the diagnostic is running, I noticed the scans on the Endbringers. They are emitting in the subspace band. Should we try to talk to them?" Lisa asked casually.

"You finally got used to your implant didn't you. Nice. What for?" Taylor tilted her head a bit.

Lisa smirked "Seek out new life!"

"And when they turn out to be two teenagers and a nine year old raised by space wolves?"

"What is it with you and wolves. You love Rachel."

Taylor spluttered and Lisa drew a one in the air with a finger. Then she chuckled "You haven't got the universal translator on line have you?"

Taylor blushed "Fucking thing. No wonder Sato had so much trouble with it."

"I'll take a crack at it, well my power will. Its all excited about it, something about it being intuitive, deductive, or both. I think my power wants a boyfriend." Lisa clapped her hands over her mouth.

Taylor looked at her wide eyed, bouncing in her seat. "I'm telling everybody!" Lisa slumped in her seat and face palmed.

AN: We will see if the muse adds to this. If so it will be posting on Thursdays.


End file.
